


684 Concord Rd

by Shnuggletea



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Beauty and the Beast AU, F/M, Fairy Tale Challenge 2021, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Romance, inukag - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29778834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shnuggletea/pseuds/Shnuggletea
Summary: Kagome needs money for a lot of things; school, her family, medical bills, as well as a debt her father left behind. So when a job comes along with a big paycheck that fits her schedule, she doesn't hesitate. That is, until the house she's supposed to clean turns out to be occupied by an angry beast. For Fairy Tale Challenge 2021: Week 1 Modern Fairy Tale!
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Miroku/Sango (InuYasha)
Comments: 112
Kudos: 49
Collections: Fairy Tale Challenge 2021





	1. Chapter One

_ “As he prepared to ride on, he chuckled at the thought of the wolf entering the sheepfold. He would not ride with fire and destruction. The shepherd did not frighten his own pretty lambs.” _

**_― Conn Iggulden,_ ** **_Khan: Empire of Silver_ **

Looking at the little slip of paper in her hands, Kagome double-checked the address. It matched but she was pretty sure Gramps wrote it down wrong; 684 Concord Rd. The place… it was beautiful but it also looked like it was barely standing. From where she stood, all she saw was endless chipped white paint and a few rooms that appeared to be leaning. Leaning is not a good sign when it comes to a house. She was sure she never wanted to go higher than the first floor.

Cell phone in hand, Kagome planned to call home and have Gramps tell her the address again. But as she woke up her screen, it told her point-blank, a phone call wasn’t going to happen. She couldn’t even text; there wasn’t a single bar out here. It wasn’t like this was the middle of nowhere. A little off the beaten path -sure- but she could still see the back of a Seven-Eleven from where she stood by the mailbox. And the neighbor was pretty close; their front windows looked right into the front yard of this monster house.

Careful as she stepped, Kagome traversed the wrap-around porch, testing her luck with the doorbell. There wasn’t a sound around the place, a few birds calling but no traffic or air noise. So she leaned into the door as she pressed the ancient button and heard nothing. 

“Of course, it doesn’t work. Does this place even have electricity?” She muttered to herself.

The last thing she wanted was to step on a rotted plank and break her ankle or just get stuck outside the house that no one was home in. But she still wandered around, peeking in foggy windows for signs of life. It took her around to a room made of glass which blocked her from going any further on this route. Squinting, she could see through the sunroom to the other side where the veranda continued. Her plan was, jump over the mud puddles and continue her search via the porch but the door she leaned on popped open.

The air wasn’t stale like she expected. Probably due to leaky windows in the house of glass. The brown tile was dark and dingy looking but the antique blue walls brightened the place significantly. As well as the bright white edgings. Well...they used to be bright white, now they were closer to off-white. But they still stood out in the dark house.

Kagome made it to what looked like a game room; a pool table covered with a dusty cloth. There were no signs of life in the place still and she was starting to get worried she was actually committing a crime. “Hello??”

Her voice bounced off the walls. There was scarcely any furniture. All that was there could easily have been left behind by whoever lived there last. It certainly couldn’t be taken as proof of life. 

“Hi there.”

The squeak she released bounced even harder off the walls; vibrating in her ears as she burned with embarrassment. The man that had called out to her stood still at the bottom of a set of stairs. A good foot away from her, he had his hands folded before him and a small grin on his face. He was tall, black hair that matched hers in color and broad shoulders. Good looking for sure, she only felt less at ease with that knowledge though. Good-looking people intimidated her; she hadn’t had very many good experiences with them. 

“Um… Hi…”

“You must be the girl that was hired to… help?”

She looked around with him, the strange man referencing the mess that was the entire structure. “UH… yes? I mean I think so?”

“Kagome then?” He asked, holding out a hand to lead him towards her.

Stepping up as well, she put out her hand and received his. “Yes, that’s me.”

“Welcome, Kagome. Miroku. Nice to meet you.”

“Ye.. yeah… so… what is it I’m… expected to do here?” Her voice shook as she asked because it was starting to feel as if she would be expected to do dubious things. And she wasn’t sure if her college funds were worth it.

Miroku chuckled, releasing her hand to scratch the back of his neck. “Uh… well. Nothing you’re not comfortable with…” Oh god, it was just as she feared! “Just… do whatever you can to clean the place up…”

“I’M NOT COMFORTABLE!!!” She screamed on top of his last words. “Oh, wait did you say clean?”

Now he outright laughed at her. “I get it; asking a young and beautiful girl to come all the way out here to this dump. I can assure you, you are safe here. The place is in serious need of… love. Can you manage that?”

Taking her eyes off the decent and friendly Miroku, Kagome looked around at the place once again. It really was beautiful if you looked past the dirt and age. “Yes… I can do that.”

And she really meant it too.

oOo

The sun was her only light but it was a bright and sunny day -thankfully. She didn’t want to know what this place was like when it rained. 

Braided and coiled around her head, she covered her hair with a bright red bandana to keep it safe from any dirt or bugs. She had seen a lot of bugs. They were coming out of the woodwork -literally- as she moved and cleaned the place. 

The only place she had done any work in was the massive game room because it had the most natural light. She still wasn’t sure if the place had any electricity. 

With a bucket of soapy water and a large scrub brush, she was on her hands and knees working on a stain in the middle of the tile floor. She had her earbuds in and her music on high; Kagome couldn’t even hear herself as she sang her heart out. It helped with the lonely and eerie feelings she got being all alone in the grand and empty house all day long. 

For two weeks now, it had been the same. Class and work on this house. Weekends she spent here working as well; hence why on Saturday morning she was getting her knees wet scrubbing instead of watching cartoons with a bowl of cereal. 

The advisor at the financial office had been clear; if she wanted to continue she would have to come up with the money fast or get kicked out of school. All of her years of hard work would have been wasted. What choice did she have? Her family didn’t have the money; that was the whole point of the scholarship she was granted. It wasn’t her fault the company sponsoring it went bankrupt. Which was the only reason she was given a month to come up with the money by other means. That, and her ugly sobbing face.

She could feel her stomach growling but not hear it, slowly getting to her feet since her knees and legs had frozen to their crouched position. Usually, she ate before she came and packed food but today she had been late and lazy. 

Was it okay for her to just leave? There was never anyone around for her to ask. She wasn’t even sure who she was fixing this house up for? Was it going to be sold once she finished? With it just her working when she could, it was going to take years. 

Her stomach growled again but she still didn’t feel right just leaving without a word or permission. Leaving her spot and her headphones in, she wandered around. Since her first day there, she still hadn’t seen all of the house. It was just too big and intimidating. Now with her shield on (her music), it wasn’t as scary.

A long hallway with a set of tall stairs in the middle was dark but manageable. She wasn’t stumbling as she had in a few rooms in the house. So dark and cluttered she nearly broke something and she didn’t just mean a lamp.

The stairs gave her a bad vibe though; dark and ominous. So she skipped by them, picking up her pace and sneaking by them like a child. No one was around to see her act this way so what did it matter?

A light at the end of the… hallway, she found herself in a small kitchen. Odd; such a large home you would think it would have a larger kitchen? It wasn’t the space that was small, it was the set up really. There was little to work with. But there was a fridge and an oven both the newest looking items in the whole house.

Tiptoeing to the fridge, she readied herself for what might lay inside. There was no telling what condition the insides were or what was left inside to rot. Taking a deep breath to hold, she wrenched the door open only to find a clean and working fridge. The light on and the cool air hitting her feet, she looked at a fully stocked fridge. Had someone done this for her?

Taking a chance, she looked at the ‘closet’ in the room. It was -in fact- a fully stocked pantry. All this time she’d been brown-bagging it around here when she could have been eating like a Queen?

A little more digging and she had a pot, knife, and cutting board. The pantry had a bunch of canned soups but she was never a fan; opting to make her mother’s chicken and dumplings soup instead. Frozen chicken breast in the freezer, she thawed it in boiling water so it made her stock simultaneously. There definitely wasn’t any stock in the fridge. Really it looked more like they expected her to make sandwiches and eat boxed/canned goods. She didn’t know what to think of the tiny bag of flour she found at the bottom of the pantry but she was thankful, using some of it to make her dumplings. 

There wasn’t much by means of cookware either but she did find a saucepan that was deep enough and looked brand new. Chopped, boiled, and now simmering, Kagome danced and sang while she watched her soup cook. When all was finished, it wasn’t perfect; but for what she had to work with, it was pretty good. 

She took her bowl back to the game room, sitting as close to the wall of windows as she could, and took in the backyard. There was a set of stairs on one side of the hill that led down the small incline to a river. And on the other side… she was pretty sure it was supposed to be a pool at some point, a concrete hole half-filled with dirt and surrounded by trash. 

That was going to be interesting for her to clean.

Maybe she could rent a machine to do that? Whatever, that would be for much, much later. As it was it was too cold to even think about a pool. 

Her bowl empty and her belly full, she returned to the kitchen and cleaned up her mess; looking at the steaming pot still very full. “Shoot,” she said to herself. So used to cooking for four, she made too much. Oh well, she would be there tomorrow and the next day and so on. 

Putting the leftovers in the fridge, she now had one less thing to worry about tomorrow at least. The sun was getting low when she finished scrubbing; the floor now gleaming. Instead of a dingy brown, the tiles were now a light tan. Still not what she’d pick but they looked better. 

Using the back of her hand, she wiped the sweat off her forehead; her music still blaring until it turned into her ringtone. Now she was stressed again, spying the number on the display before answering. “Hello?”

“Ms. Kagome Higurashi?”

“That’s me.”

“This is North-East County General. We’ve admitted your mother for…”

“I’m coming!!!”

Kagome didn’t even wait for the rest; she already knew what they were going to say. Leaving the bucket of murky water and sponge on the floor, she slipped around out of the room in her haste; slamming the front door behind her.

oOo

It was a scene she had seen so many times now but she was sure she would never get used to it. Her mother, pale and thin laying on a small hospital bed with tubes coming in and out of her. Grampa, pensive at her side and Souta weary next to him. The latter jumped to his feet when she entered; the pre-teen needing the hug he gave her more than she did. 

“What is it this time?” She asked full of concern.

“Another respiratory infection,” Grampa answered point-blank.

Great. Another one. Just what mom’s immune system needed. It also meant several weeks in the hospital and they were still working to pay off the last time mom was sick and hospitalized. Souta took the large and heavy bag Kagome had with her; digging through it on instinct while she took a seat. 

Souta pulled out the blanket Kagome brought when she stopped at home for things her mother would need, knowing it would be another long stint in a bed that wasn’t hers. 

“These hospital blankets aren’t shit here.” Both Kagome and Grampa glared at the boy for his language. “Sorry.”

They sat in silence after that, time ticking by with the heart monitor in the room. Souta started to drift off in his chair. “You guys should go. I will stay with her.”

It was a fight they’d had so many times now; the two didn’t even fuss for once. Rising, they passed her with hugs and kisses before leaving her to watch. She could watch at night; during the day with her classes and work it was the only time she had. Grampa would watch during the day and Souta would come after school to relieve him. All so she could come right after work and stay the night. It worked so well, they had no means to argue about it. Even if it left her exhausted; it was the price she would gladly pay so her mom was never alone.

oOo

It was gone. All damn day, she’d been looking forward to the soup she made yesterday and it was  _ gone _ ?! Did someone come behind her and toss it? How wasteful! It wasn’t perfect but it was delicious!

“Ug, whatever.” She growled at the air. Even she couldn’t hear herself say it, headphones blocking out all other sounds. She would just have to make something else, no big deal. How many times had Souta eaten her leftovers when she turned her back? Too many times to count! This wasn’t the end of the world. Even though she was so tired, she worried she’d cut her finger off. Maybe something that didn’t require cutting?

The pantry had a box of noodles and cans of tomato sauce. The sauce was just plain tomato puree, lacking even salt. But she preferred it that way; spicing it how she pleased.

To her surprise, the spice rack next to the range top was well stocked. It even had white pepper, her favorite. Oddly, there was even some brown sugar next to the flour. It was as if someone randomly bought things, not sure what she (or whomever this food was meant for) would like. It worked well for her, growing up as the cook in the house she had to learn a lot of little ‘tricks of the trade’. Which included adding a little brown sugar to your marinara to cut down on the acidity of the tomatoes.

With the white pepper, it had a nice kick to it, heating your bones as it went down. It was just what she needed; Kagome felt cold since she slept in the chair next to her mother last night. She slurped up her noodles, coating her lips in dark red sauce only to laugh at herself when it got on her nose. 

Washed and straightened (the inevitable leftovers stored) Kagome went back to work on her task for the day: windows. Kagome had decided that the problem with this place was the lack of light in it. And the dirt coating windows were the cause. 

Bucket of suds in one hand and a dripping rag in the other, she moved on to her third room for the day. Her theory was working, the rooms were surprisingly less gloomy once all the windows were clean. It would be better once she cleaned them from the outside as well but she did NOT want to be outside with water all over her this time of year.

The room she tackled now was the first one with… stuff in it. All the others were empty. This one had an old sofa that had visible dust coating it. It sat across from an old box stove. Most of the light came from the two glass doors on either side of the chimney (light from the hall). But there was a small pop out of windows behind the couch. It blocked her from them and the window seat between the four panes surrounding the enclave. That, and the off-white curtains that were stained from age. 

It was a struggle; moving the large couch out of her way and she was sure she scratched the floor while she was at it. Someone was going to be pissed but she had to keep going. The pillow on the window seat was just as bad as the couch so she pulled it off and tossed it on the floor. Now it wouldn’t get wet along with her. 

Standing up on the bench of the window seat, Kagome scrubbed the dirt off all the windows. Light leaked through more with each layer of grime she removed. Her voice bounced off the glass before her as she belted out and, as her reflection became more clear, she could see her hips shake. And then she could see something else.

It looked white and when she scrubbed more there was black underneath. And it moved.

Her gasp hit empty air as she spun because, whatever it was, it was gone by the time she faced it. Now it felt extra chilly inside the house as if someone opened a door and ran out into the frosty afternoon air.

oOo

She was dragging and she knew it. But why not have her friends point it out to her in case she missed it? 

“Kagome, are you alright?” Eri asked, her tone laced with concern. “Are you not sleeping again?”

The three surrounded her as they walked. Never had she ever told them of the struggles she faced outside the University walls. The last thing she needed was pity or to be looked down on. Being the scholarship kid was more than enough.

Yuka huffed, “I could hear you snoring in Dr. Yukza’s lecture.”

Had she fallen asleep? That would explain her lack of notes. But sleeping hunched over in a chair wasn’t the best of positions. “I’ve just been...working late. My new job requires a lot of time and effort.”

Not really a lie. 

“Dedication is a great trait to have, Kagome!” Ayumi beamed. 

The other two just hung their heads but Kagome was glad to have the continued support even if misgiven. “Thank you. I won’t give up!”

She couldn’t give up because now she had the added strain of medical bills coming her way. Before she was only working to pay those off but now she was paying for her college education in full. And a medical degree was very expensive. Frankly, if she wasn’t in her second year of Med school, she would just give in. But so much time and money had already been spent, she couldn’t cave now.

Picking up where she left off, Kagome grabbed the cushions off the couch from the one room with furniture and made for the door. Hitting them as hard as she could, a cloud of dust billowed out of them. Luckily, she had the forethought to wrap her bandana around her face instead of her head before attempting this. Otherwise, she’d be just as choked up as the person behind her was.

Dropping the pillows, she turned on her heel, grabbing her heart to help it calm as Miroku swatted the air in front of his face before her. “Working..(cough, cough)... hard?”

“Um.. yeah… sorry about the dust…”

Her voice was muffled, forgetting her mask and tugging it swiftly off. “No worries… what are you doing here? I thought you didn’t work Tuesdays?”

Uh oh, she probably should have cleared this first. “I don’t… but I need the money. I’m sorry I should have called or… something.”

“Not sure how. You don’t have my number do you?” He laughed at the flush on her face. “It’s my fault, I should have had the forethought. I suppose it’s fine as long as you don’t mind that I’m here as well?”

“Oh no, of course, it’s your house! And the company would be… nice. Is… no one living here?”

He smirked, “Why do you ask?”

“Oh I don’t know,” she shrugged, looking at her feet, “I just… thought I saw someone? And there’s food in the kitchen too…”

“Ah yes, you’ve been using that food right?” She nodded, flushing more at her brazen use of the facility. “Anything missing? Something you’d like to make maybe?”

So the food was for her. How strange he didn’t mention that before as well. Actually, there were a lot of things strange about this place. Like how no one was there to watch her and make sure she did as expected or kept her promised work schedule. Guess her results spoke for her?

“Um… is there anything you’d like?” She asked, assuming it was him that ate her leftovers.

He looked pensive for a moment, then grinned. “I’ll have to get back to you. I must be off, I have work to do upstairs.”

Alone again, she sighed heavily in relief. Kagome wasn’t sure she had the strength or the nerve to climb those stairs. They still looked precarious to her as did the entire structure. The last thing she wanted was to be on the top floor and a stiff breeze knocks the whole place over.

Time went by unnoticed until the sun began to set. Which was why she was surprised when Miroku met her at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her to leave. “You’re off then?”

“Um… yeah. Be back tomorrow. I left some baked chicken and mashed potatoes if you’re hungry?”

Miroku smirked again, a reoccurring tendency of his that made him look devious. “That is kind of you. And if I could be so bold?”

“You thought of what you’d like me to make?”

“Cookies. Chocolate chip.”

She giggled, “Funny, I thought you’d say ramen. There’s a lot of instant ramen in that pantry. You should really try homemade though.”

“Oh? Well, maybe tomorrow then?”

She was pretty sure she just agreed to make ramen and chocolate chip cookies. How old was Miroku anyway? He ate like a kid or starving college student!


	2. Chapter Two

_“I'm not sure this is a world I belong in anymore. I'm not sure that I want to wake up.”_

_**― Gayle Forman, If I Stay** _

The morning was spent cooking; making ramen from scratch and then cookies. She was surprised to find a hand mixer set out for her but Miroku was nowhere to be found. Didn’t he request this meal? What the heck was she doing all this for, herself? Kagome didn’t like ramen that much!

That said, she wasn’t going to let it go to waste, heading back to the kitchen after a long afternoon of waxing parka floors. Only to nearly wet herself when a man was standing in the kitchen, helping himself. 

“Hey!!” He jumped a little but not nearly as much as she had, glaring at her over his shoulder. “That… that food is… for the owner of this house!!”

Her heart was still racing but she took in the man’s appearance. A ratty baseball cap on his head didn’t cover even a small portion of the long, pure white hair that spilled down his back. Add in his ripped jeans and stained t-shirt and she was sure he was some homeless guy that wandered in.

That might explain why he said nothing, ignoring her and continuing to eat. He was probably deaf or mute. Or both. Because otherwise there was no indication as to why he wouldn’t be able to work, his body was in fine working order. 

Kagome shook the unnecessary thoughts out of her head quickly since he was walking towards her with his bowl. “I... I mean… I guess it’s okay… if you have a l.. little?” He didn’t stop and neither did she, backing up as he came closer. “L… look I just… I just work here! I don’t… I don’t care if you have some food or sleep here but I’ll have to tell my boss and I don’t know what he’ll do probably call the cops and then you’ll be put in jail but at least you’d have a place to sleep and food….”

“Move.”

During her rambling and freak out, she’d backed to the steps in the hall and stood blocking them. This guy wanted to go upstairs? Glancing down, she noticed he also had gloves on his hands. Strange, he wore short sleeves and gloves? Did his hands get cold and not the rest of him?

“I said, move!”

Jumping at his gruffness, Kagome jibbered out of the way. Because it was far from a smooth movement as she shuffled and shook to the side. He didn’t even spare her another glance, taking the stairs two at a time. 

“You sing too damn much.”

That was the last thing the stranger said and Kagome was a puddle of freak out on the floor.

oOo

“I probably should have warned you,” Miroku blundered but she was far from amused, “he’s the owner of the house, not me. And he lives here.”

“Is he here all the time?” She asked, keeping her arms crossed firmly over her chest and tapping a toe at the man.

He winced, “Yes,” now he had his palms pressed together and his hands in front of his chest, “please don’t be mad. He likes his privacy.”

“It’s not as if I’d go barging into his room if I’d known he was here.” But she had been singing at the top of her lungs the entire time she’d been working there. And dancing. Both things she only did in privacy.

“Please don’t quit. You are needed; this place is already in much better shape!” 

“Really?” She thought, looking around and still seeing nothing more than a pretty shack. “What the heck did he see that she didn’t?” She wondered to herself.

“You really bring… light into this place. I won’t keep anything more from you. Except what I’m not allowed to say that is.”

Well, it’s not like she expected him to tell her bank account numbers. Just that she wasn’t the only person inside the place. “So it was him that ate my cooking and requested cookies? Not you?”

Guilt wiped away from Miroku’s face, a grin replacing it. “Yes. Are you disappointed?”

She was relieved. Miroku was a nice guy and good looking but the last thing she needed was a guy like him in her life. The man she met last night… was good-looking but far from nice. She was in no danger with him. 

Miroku was still grinning, waiting. “I… I really don’t have time for you. Or anyone, I’m not interested in anything romantic right now.”

His eyes went wide and a laugh barked out of him. “Wow. Honest. I appreciate it.”

“Any time.”

Turning her around, Miroku wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a friendly manner. “Kagome, I think you and I are going to have a beautiful friendship.”

“Anything else I should know? Before it’s sprung on me unnecessarily?!”

Miroku was leading her towards the back set of stairs, ones that were originally meant for servants when the house was new. “Hmmm…. just make sure you leave before nightfall. The master wants some time to himself.”

“Not a problem.”

With her time spent with her mother at night and being far too creeped out by the place to stay past twilight, Kagome would never be there without daylight to protect her. The master was most likely a vampire. That would explain his need for privacy and crazy good looks. At least his body, she didn’t look at his face and his attitude sucked. 

“Oh and if you wouldn’t mind cooking a little extra when you do? It’s best the Master stopped living off of freeze-dried noodles with far too much salt, don’t you agree?”

She really couldn’t care less about the guy. “Sure.”

oOo

Dragging herself to class, Kagome had never felt more like the dirt on the ground. All she wanted to do was lay down and just let everyone tread over her. They clearly wouldn’t mind; the other students around her glaring whenever they bumped into her! So what if she was going slower than the rest, she hadn’t slept at all last night!

Her mother had a bad night and they had to hook her up to a respirator. That was a fun one to explain to Grampa when he arrived that morning. And now she needed to make sure she was there when Souta came in to keep him from freaking out too much. Which meant she didn’t have time to be lagging like this, she needed to hurry on over to the hospital.

“Higurashi-san!”

Her cringe had nothing to do with the voice that called to her. It was more about how little time she had to deal with him. “Hojo, what’s up?”

“Long time no see… um, are you okay?”

“Just tired. And in a hurry.” Kagome didn’t mean to be rude but…

“Oh? Are you leaving campus? I could give you a ride if you like?”

Normally, she would say no. Kagome had no problems riding the trains. But the prospect of taking a nap in his car… “Okay.”

The hospital loomed next to her as she was gently shaken awake. “Here we are. Please tell your Aunt I said ‘congratulations on the baby’.”

It took her a moment to catch back up to her lie, giving Hojo a nod and hopping out of his car. Visiting a new mother was a happy occasion; one lacking sadness and stress. If she ever told her friends about her mother then she’d also have to tell them about her father. 

That was a conversation she wanted to have about as much as she wanted all her teeth pulled without novocaine.

Even with Hojo’s help, she didn’t beat Souta to the hospital. He sat, staring at their mother with tears in his eyes. It was a hard sight to take; Mom hooked up to so many machines. It also wasn’t the first time seeing her like this, unfortunately. Mom had been sick for a few years now and it was only getting worse. Last year she told us that there was a treatment for her disease. But since it’s experimental, insurance won’t pay and they didn’t have the funds. 

So here they were, watching their mother dying a slow death while they drowned in debt. 

Currently, her mother was drowning in fluids, hence the aspirator. Something Kagome explained in full to Souta. Her hasty arrival kept him from shedding too many tears while she contained all of hers. What does one say to a twelve-year-old to comfort them when their mother is dying? Kagome supposed if she knew, those same words would comfort herself as well.

There was only one thing she could say and know that it was true. “Everything is going to be okay, Souta.”

oOo

A quick stop at home to grab some things and then she was heading back to the hospital. That’s what she told herself anyway but as soon as she neared the two tall men standing in her way had her thinking otherwise. They were unknown to her, she didn’t know their names or anything about them, but she didn’t need to. One look and she knew exactly what they were there for. 

“I’ve told you guys already, my father isn’t here.”

The nice suits they wore and the expensive haircuts made them look like gentle business professionals. But their smiles didn’t fool her. “Have you seen him?”

“Not since the last time you guys came by and asked!”

They looked offended; one of them removed their shades to show his grimace more. “Then maybe we should squeeze you and your family until Daddy pops?”

Her heart dropped into her belly but it wasn’t anything they hadn’t tried before. “If you think a man that left his family behind like he did his debts cared about them then, you’re not very smart.”

One pulled his arm back to hit her and the other grabbed ahold to stop him. “If you see him, let us know, Gorgeous.”

The one not threatening her held out a card for her to take. How many of these had she received so far? She could start a bonfire with them… if she kept them. At least they were concise, keeping her from being jammed up for too long. 

As if she didn’t have enough on her hands like bills, a sick mother, a young brother, and an aging Grandfather to care for, school, work, she didn’t have the time or the care to worry about her father’s past. She had far more pressing matters… like her test on Friday in Biochemistry. 

Last night, when she couldn’t sleep, she recorded all her notes. So now, she listened to herself say them while she swept the long halls of the withered house. Along the backside of the house was a strange and long room. Its width didn’t leave much room for anything. And the only things in it were a bunch of mix-matched chairs. There was even an ancient desk from a school-room. The kind with the desk on the back so it was useless without another desk to accompany it. 

Setting her broom aside, she inspected a corner at the end that was full of random things. A crate filled with old newspapers and magazines, some old toys, an old high chair, a power generator still in its box, a 70’s amplifier, and a dust-covered dartboard.

She was inspecting the game, looking for the darts that went with it when her voice cut off. At the end of her notes, she planned on starting them over again once she finished snooping. 

“YOU PLAY??”

Screaming and jumping, Kagome once again considered herself lucky she didn’t wet herself. This time, she growled as she spun, the Master standing at the other end of the strange, skinny room. He pointed to his ears under his long hair to gesture to hers. The idiot scared the shit out of her because he thought she was blasting music again.

Ripping her earbuds out, she continued to glare while he started pointing at the dartboard next to her. “Darts?” Now he looked at her like she was the dumb one while he was pointing and screaming at her. “No, I don’t know how.”

His disappointment was clear but she could care less. Instead, she took in his appearance a little more fully this time. From this distance, his face was very lovely. A strong jaw and high cheekbones with unblemished pale skin, he was pretty. 

Great. 

He wasn’t dressed any better than before; a thin t-shirt, ripped jeans, gloves, and hat on. A strange combination but if she ignored the gloves she could focus on the muscles. 

And there were a lot. 

She shook her head free again and turned away from him, going back to work. “You should open a window if you’re going to kick up all that dust!”

He was already cracking open one of the ones along the wall. The windows split the wood in half on the outside of the hall; bringing bright sunlight in. And now crisp winter air leaked in and chilled her. It reminded her of the day she saw that ‘ghost’. “That was you, last week behind me while I cleaned those windows! You scared me!”

He huffed. “Doesn’t appear to be hard; scaring you.”

“You can’t blame me for being jumpy. This place is creepy. Made creepier by the resident ghost popping up whenever he pleases!”

This was not how one was supposed to talk to their boss, but he smiled in return and her heart skipped a little. “No singing today?”

He was pointing to her earbuds again and she blanched at the reminder. Picking them up, she shoved them back into her ears. “No, I have a final exam I’m studying for. So if you’ll excuse me…”

“Can you make ramen again?”

She paused, mostly for the pleading in his tone but also in surprise. “You liked it?”

Shrugging and turning, he left her with that as his answer. Guess she would have to take that as a ‘yes’.

oOo

Kagome was on a high. It was called ‘two hours of sleep in five days and finishing her final’. She was pretty sure she aced it, staying up all night studying by her mother’s side had its benefits after all. 

And now, she was at 684 Concord with no time to rest or sleep. All of it left her feeling a little… giddy. Perfect time to tackle a bathroom! She’d been putting them off for the month she’d been working there. Her mood was just weird enough to go into the small and (undoubtedly) disgusting room to clean. Currently, she was running on coffee and cookies; caffeine and sugar were the only things keeping her going. 

If it were anyone else, they probably would have called in sick, but she’d already missed days for her mom. And she needed this job. Sure, it was super weird and tiring but it paid better than anything she’d come across before. If she kept at it, she’d have more than enough for school. All the ‘extra’ would all go to her mom and her family but that was needed just as badly. 

All she needed to do was survive a little while longer. Once out of pre-med, she could get an internship and then residency. They didn’t pay as much as a surgeon but it was better than nothing. Maybe she could keep this job too? Then she’d make more than enough for sure.

Now she just had to survive scrubbing toilets. Rubber gloves on and a bucket in her hold, she gently kicked the door open. The white painted door held a lovely green glass in the middle. It was bubbled; distorted so someone couldn’t spy on you during your private time. 

The bathroom was small, which meant less to clean. Pulling a bottle of vinegar out of her bucket, she sprayed the room from top to bottom to disinfect and then scrubbed it down with lavender-scented soap. It wasn’t that bad inside but the walls were slowly turning back to white if that said anything. Maybe it was the lavender soap or her exhaustion but she was half done when the room started to spin. A tiny window in the room would be her salvation. Too bad she didn’t open it before she started and now the chemicals were bearing down on her even with the door wide open. 

Her last acts were to try and push the window open but she was fading fast, struggling to get it to crack with years of paint keeping it closed. All she could do was pray she didn’t land in the toilet as it all went black.

oOo

Fuzzy. Her mouth was fuzzy. So was her brain, like she was dehydrated. Why would she be dehydrated though? All she had done that day was go to work…

Sitting up like Kagome was a mistake; hitting her head on the underside of the sink only made her head sing and the world spin more. Crawling out, she felt the floor; leaving the bathroom behind. Her fingers found a wall. Wait, not a wall. It was the stairs; the wood split under her touch into spindles for the banister. 

Weak, she pulled herself to her feet using the slick edges of the rounded pegs that held up the handrail for the stairs. Taking a few deep breaths, she got her head in the game and rallied as much as she could. The first thing she noticed? She was starving. But that didn’t matter because the next thing she noticed was that it was completely dark.

Spinning and then waiting for her brain to stop twirling, she frantically took in her surroundings. The sun had set, hours ago probably, and the house was completely dark. She was still at 684 Concord. The one thing Miroku told her not to do and here she was, standing in the middle of the house like a fool. 

Tripping and making an awful racket, she stumbled back to the kitchen, grabbing her backpack. That was all she needed, hoping to rush out sight unseen. What was that they said about plans? How they made God laugh? Well, she hoped he was enjoying himself because she sure as shit wasn’t laughing as she stared back into the face of the Master.

“What the fuck are you still doing here??” 

He was at the other end of the hall while she stood several feet from the front door. Her escape. “I’m sorry I passed out…”

“I asked for one thing, one fucking thing and that was to be alone at night. What the hell is so hard about that??”

She stumbled backward as fear raced in her veins. Her brain wasn’t working right because now his eyes were glowing red. “I didn’t… I didn’t mean to…”

“GET OUT!!!”

When she still didn’t move, her legs and breath froze, he started to move towards her. Slow and purposeful at first but then fast and deadly. Like an animal.

Falling back on her ass, she scrambled the rest of the way out the door. She didn’t bother pulling it shut behind her, the sound of her feet slipping on the gravel matched her racing heart. For some reason, she looked back. It was probably her freaked-out brain making sure she wasn’t being chased. She wasn’t. The Master stood in the doorway, his red eyes glowing back at her. Red eyes her brain made up, just like the silhouette of ears on top of his head.

She was never using that lavender soap again.


	3. Chapter Three

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

**― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring**

Okay, so she was in the wrong. Kagome had stayed past her welcome at 684 Concord and that was against the rules. That didn’t mean that her boss had the right to scare the ever-living shit out of her. So she felt justified in responding with a simple, “Fuck off” when Miroku called. It didn’t take too many of those before the calls stopped. This wasn’t a shock to her; she was just a cleaning lady at best.

The money would be missed. How the hell was she going to pay for college now? The only solace she had at the moment as it was winter break giving her a few weeks to figure all that out. Not that any place was hiring.

After a week and a half of searching and she was coming up empty. Newspaper in hand, she crossed another ‘help wanted’ off the list. “If they weren’t looking for a student, then they should have put that in the ad!” She thought bitterly to herself, the train swaying, full of people. So full it shouldn’t feel weird when someone watched her. What made it weird was that it was constant. For several days now she could feel eyes watching her. Every time she searched, she found that no one was looking at her. It made the hairs rise on the back of her neck but there was nothing she could do. It was all in her head anyway.

A break from searching, she visited her mother who was still comatose and fighting. If anything that only pushed her more to not give up. Even when things looked dim. Souta and Grampa went home to set up the Christmas tree. Seemed pointless since they’d put it off in hopes their mom would be home for it. That wasn’t happening anytime soon according to Mom’s doctors.

Kagome continued her search, not stopping until the offices closed and the sunset. Taking her time, she enjoyed the colored lights on their block. Everyone else was so cheery; enjoying the holiday as they should. Things were just a little grayer at her house. 

The lights from the tree twinkled on top of the Shrine steps but three tall figures blocked the entrance before her. A heavy sigh of frustration left her as she took the final steps towards them. “Seriously? It’s Christmas!” They said nothing on that, surrounding her quickly and silently. “Look, guys, I still don’t know where my father is.”

“Oh yeah? We think you do.” The big one stated.

“Who’s we?”

They looked around at one another and smirked, the shortest one snarling at her to show her his ugly teeth. “I’m sure your Daddy will tell you.”

“My Daddy hasn’t been home in years!”

Shortie rolled his eyes to his partners. “Maybe the boy knows something?”

Her blood boiled at the thought and she jumped on the short one, digging her nails into his neck. “You leave him alone!!” One of them pulled her off but she wasn’t done, kicking and screaming at them all now. “Don’t you even LOOK at Souta!!”

“See that?” Shortie growled, “Baby boy must know something.”

“Dad left before Souta was born! He doesn’t know anything! I don’t know anything!! Go look somewhere else because he isn’t here you dumbasses!!!”

That got her a backhanded slap across the cheek. It felt like her eye popped out for a second from the blow. Absentmindedly, she lifted her hand to her face and felt the heat from her cheek. While she was out of it from the shock, the men were doing… something. It didn’t make sense because one hit the ground and the other was holding his arm. Looking closer, she could see what looked like blood oozing out between his fingers. On the cold ground, she watched them scramble away as if their lives depended on it. Which made her even more confused, she hadn’t even touched them. 

Gentler hands grabbed her but she still fought them off. “Relax!! I’m not going to hurt you.”

She cringed, looking up into the shadowed face of her ex-boss, but let him help her to her feet. Once standing he released her only to grab her chin and inspect her face. 

“That’s going to swell.”

Waking up from her stupor, she jerked back from his touch but then struggled with basic thought processes like speaking. Her bag was flung away at some point and he beat her to it when she tried to pick it up. Holding it out, she swiped it from him, grimacing as much as her puffy cheek would allow and not hurt. It was probably the first time she got a good look at his eyes. She knew she’d imagined it because they were far from red. They were gold. A beautiful, gentle…. annoying gold!

“You could say ‘thank you’, you know?”

“Fine thank you.” She murmured back.

He didn’t move, staring at her intently. “What did those guys want?”

She pressed her lips together as if to say, “I’m not telling” without words.

“Is that why you took such a sketchy job? Working in a house that didn’t have an owner all so you could pay back some gambling debts? You look a little young for that, maybe you were a pro for them? Turning tricks and you got tired of spreading your legs…”

“Oh my GOD would you shut up??!!” He snickered, happy to have won a little bit. “They’re looking for my father, okay??”

“Your father? Is he not just up those steps?” Silent again, she watched understanding bloom on his face. “Ah. I can relate. They don’t call them deadbeat for nothing…”

“Speaking of which, why are you here??”

The frown on his face told her he got her segway loud and clear. And the dropping of his gaze to his feet told her he didn’t want to say. “I.. miss you….”

He was whispering. “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. Could you speak up??”

“I miss your cooking okay??”

He shouted it to her face but then turned to look anywhere else but at her. So he missed her smile but she was glad for that. “That’s very nice but it’s not good enough.”

He sighed, “what do you want? A raise?”

“That would be nice. But not enough.”

“Then what!!” He shouted, now back in her face.

Crossing her arms indignantly across her chest, she watched and waited for him to get it on his own. It didn’t take nearly as long as she thought it would. Perhaps he wasn’t a lost cause after all? 

“Fine, I’m sorry, alright?”

“That’s closer.”

“You… weren’t supposed to be there! That was the one rule I had and you broke it so easily!”

“Easy?! I passed out in your damn bathroom! I didn’t do it on purpose, you ass!!”

His frustration with her had him growling. It reminded her of a dog that had its toy stolen. “What the fuck were you doing? Cleaning with the door closed?!”

How much should she tell this guy? This stranger that was now shouting at her on the street? “I was exhausted!”

“Why were you so damn tired?!”

“Because I’m dealing with a lot of shit right now?! My mother is in the hospital, my Grandpa is way too old to care for my little brother, and the scholarship I had for college is gone! There’s school and work and bills, endless bills! And now I apparently will have thugs to fight off on the regular so if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to enjoy what little bit of peace I have left this year; sitting around the damn Christmas tree and pretending the world isn’t on FIRE!!”

At some point during her rant, a few angry and frustrated tears leaked out. Instead of wasting time and energy wiping them, she planned to leave instead. But as soon as she took one step past him, his arm shot out and wrapped around her waist, stopping her. “Yeah, I guess I can see why you came to work on my house.”

A laugh choked out of her; mixed with more tears. A strange combination of chuckling, crying, and a little bit of snot she wiped away as quickly as possible, praying he didn’t see. Kagome was a mess; there was no hiding that. 

Pushing her back gently, he had her standing before him again, his golden stare holding her in place. “I’m sorry, I… overreacted to you last week. Please, return to work.”

His hand was poised over her belly as if she would run at any second; away from him. But he had her pinned with his eyes, gold and amber swirling inside them. She had to force herself to look elsewhere for fear that her mouth would melt together and she’d never speak again. 

Flicking her eyes upward, she took in the ratty hat on top of his head again. And then remember how she thought she saw ears instead. The ridiculousness of it hit her now, a small chuckle forcing free. Pulling back to his face before she fell into a full-on laughing fit; feeling truly foolish as it were, the confusion in his eyes and on his mouth nearly sent her over the edge as well. Shaking her head helped stop her mind and his, quickly calming and finding her voice. 

“I’ll be there on the 26th… with a raise right?”

He smirked and it was devilishly handsome. “If you cook?”

When she pulled up her hand to shake his, Kagome realized how close they were to one another. It was why she could smell his cologne; it was faint and manly and clean. His hand encompassed hers, making it feel so tiny. His gloves were gone. She didn’t see it but she felt it, his bare hand on hers. The first time and he doesn’t wear them on such a cold night? 

His skin was warm though. Something pressed oddly to her wrist but it didn’t hurt or tickle. He had a few calluses on his palm, making her wonder how he got them but knew it wasn’t her place to ask. Or to ask if he felt the same tingle she did; her hand in his and a shiver running up her arm to her chest. Combined with looking him in his eyes and she felt truly lost, lost to the moment and being close to her… boss.

Reality hit her hard, because with all her running around all day no way she smelled as good as he did. Or looked anything but like a mess. She took a quick step back, dropping the hand she’d been shaking. That earned her a concerned look but he dropped it soon as if understanding the situation. Whether he understood it correctly or not, she didn’t know. 

“Right.. I’ll see you then..” He said, clearing his throat and even that was handsome.

He made his leave, turning like a robot or something and she almost left too but then remembered something important. “Hey Merry Christmas… wait… I don’t even know your name?!”

Her boss stopped; it was as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t.“...Inuyasha.”

Well, that was one she hadn’t heard for sure. “Merry Christmas, Inuyasha.”

Hands in his pockets in place of his gloves, he turned his head towards his shoulder; not looking at her but sending his voice her way. “Merry Christmas, Kagome.”

She was a little surprised he knew her name but then again, he did hire her. Miroku had to have told him. Yeah, it shouldn’t shake her that he knew, and yet hearing him say her name had the same shiver running up her spine and into her chest again. 

oOo

Kagome’s Christmas wish came true, her mom was doing better. Not enough to come home or even wake up. But enough to breathe on her own, the tubes removed and put away. It was a comforting sight; mom looked as if she were just sleeping again. Save for the knawing knowing she was drowning in her fluids. 

Souta and Gramps arrived early to relieve her and she made her way to work. She had more with her than usual, struggling as she pushed the door open using a combination of her elbows and hip. 

But hands greeted her, taking bags from her to help her. “Thanks!”

“What is all this?!”

She was shocked, Inuyasha was the one helping her. Most of her interactions inside the house had been with Miroku. It was what she expected; either help from Miroku or none at all. It made her ‘present’ a little less of a surprise but as Inuyasha dug a gloved hand into one of the bags he took from her, the cat was pretty much out of the bag. 

“Cookies.”

“Cookies?!” There was excitement to his tone that made her giggle. 

“Christmas cookies.”

He had one of the plastic containers out of the bag and open, shoving a tree-shaped sugar cookie into his wide mouth with the enthusiasm of a five-year-old. “Mmmmm….”

Kagome didn’t know why or liked how her heart beat funny in her chest at Inuyasha’s antics. It made her wonder if she had an arrhythmia. Instead, she focused on the gloves on his hands. They weren’t for warmth; they were thick leather-like ones construction workers were. And the fingertips were ‘tapped’ with little metal thimbles. Just what the heck was Inuyasha doing that required such odd and hard-core protection on his hands? Kagome had studied a little about germaphobia but the gloves seemed a bit extreme for that. 

It was like Inuyasha was afraid of germs and damaging his nails.

She watched for a few more moments as he stuffed his face without shame, nibbling on a cookie herself before leaving him to get to work. Leaving the house, Kagome sprinted across the freezing year to the small ‘carriage’ house behind the main house. It had a garage built into it now but it didn’t look right. Because this was designed to be a guest quarter, for servants, or something. It wasn’t meant to be used for modern vehicles. 

It was also in worse shape than the house. 

The wind picked up and the building shifted; listing to the left and then back upright on its foundation when the breeze stopped. It had Kagome slowly backing out of the carriage house the way she came. Staring up at the tall building, she took in the chipped paint. It matched the main house.

“I bet the paint is the only thing keeping this place together,” Kagome mumbled to herself. 

She took a step but then the wind picked up and the building moved in front of her eyes. So she hustled back inside; Inuyasha was about to head up the stairs but he stopped and looked at her as she rushed back inside the house. 

“Something wrong?”

“Uuuhhh…” Should she tell him his house was about to fall apart? “I think the other house is about to fall over.”

He huffed. “Keh, I know the place is old but it’s lasted this long and…”

As he spoke, the wind picked up again and a loud crash came from behind Kagome. She jumped (nearly on top of Inuyasha) as the sound of wood cracking and banging together filled the entire house. A hold on his arm, Inuyasha tried to shrug her off; but she refused to let go. Kagome was sure the main house, the one they stood in, was going to fall next. 

Inuyasha was moving towards the crash while she was trying to pull them to the front door. “Would you cut it out? The house isn’t going to fall in or something! It was probably a limb from a tree…” He had dragged them to the back of the house and just as she suspected, a portion of the carriage house had fallen in. Right where she would have been if she’d stayed inside. “Well, I’ll be damned…”

“It’s a good thing I listen to my instincts instead of your mouth.” She murmured while unconsciously looking at Inuyasha’s mouth.

He frowned; his amber eyes danced around her face. “It only fell because... I hit it the other day.”

Kagome snorted when the laugh she tried to contain got free. “You hit it? I’m sorry but no way did you kicking the building or throwing a rock at the side of it cause THAT!”

“Did I say I did either of those things?!”

“You strike me as the type to have temper tantrums…”

“Excuse me?!”

Inuyasha was pissed but she was laughing. “You did chase me out because I stayed past dark.”

“You know what, I just remembered. You never apologized for that!”

He was serious so now she glared back at him. “Apologize for what?!”

“For breaking the rule; the one rule I have!”

“Why do you have that rule anyway? Who wants to stay here after dark? Except you!”

“I didn’t hear an apology….”

She threw up her hands and turned away. “God, you’re annoying!”

“Me?!! You sing and dance all damn day then complain when the house shifts a little in the wind! It’s a wonder why you’re here at all!”

Spinning on her toe, Kagome walked backward while speaking to her ‘boss’. “Simple. I need the money.”

“Clearly.”

Stopping, Inuyasha stopped too and looked up at her from the ground. “You could always fire me if I bother you so much?” He dropped his gaze back to the ground and mumbled, “I didn’t say that”. “You like to mumble, don’t you?”

“I said,” he yelled but then took a deep breath to calm back down, “I don’t… mind having you here. That’s all.”

“Cool.”

A grin slipped upon his face and she turned from the sight. It made her heart dance again in a stupid way. Stupid, stupid, stupid heart; she needed to get away from him and back to work.

oOo

“Would it be better if I wore gloves?”

Inuyasha dropped his fork loudly to his plate and looked up at Kagome with a baleful stare. “Why the hell would you wear gloves?”

She pointed to one of his as he sat across from her. Since her return to 684 Concord, her ‘boss’ had lunch with her regularly. Or dinner, depending on when she was there. “So you don’t have to all the time? I thought you had a thing about germs or something?”

“How is it a pre-med major so wrong about something like this?”

Now she dropped her fork. “How did you know that?” Inuyasha was suddenly very interested in his plate as he pushed around his food. “Oooooohhh I get it. You followed me!”

“Huh?”

“That day? When you showed up at the shrine?”

Inuyasha shrugged but then looked around at the kitchen they sat in. “Speaking of shrines. What are your plans for New Years' tomorrow?”

She pointed her fork at him; full of lettuce from her salad. “Don’t think I don’t know a dodge when I hear one… but I’ll be at my family’s shrine helping out. So I won’t be coming that day, sorry.”

“Glad I asked…” he said with a groan, “you don’t treat this like the job it is you know?”

Kagome looked between them. Her ‘boss’ was sitting and eating lunch with her. The lunch she cooked for them. So yeah, it didn’t feel much like a job at all. “It’s not what I’d call typical.”

Inuyasha shoved himself back, his chair loud on the floor to the point it hurt her ears. “I guess Miroku put you up to this? How much did he tell you?”

“Huh?” How quickly everything turned. Was this just how Inuyasha worked? One minute, they were having a pleasant conversation and fighting the next. “Miroku was the one who hired me but he didn’t exactly prepare me properly from the start…”

Grabbing his plate, Inuyasha stood up to leave. He had yet to look at her since pushing away from the table. “Feh, I get it. I have a lot of work to do. And so do you…”

Left alone, Kagome lost her appetite and decided to put her focus on work. So she could ‘clock out’ early and get as far as she could from the most confusing man she’d ever met. 


	4. Chapter Four

_“In this world, it is too common for people to search for someone to lose themselves in. But I am already lost. I will look for someone to find myself in.”_

_**― C. JoyBell C.** _

After spending the whole day writing out fortunes, Kagome was glad to be at the part of the evening where she handed them out. The looks on people’s faces as they read them were always her favorite part of New Years'. 

The shrine was filled with people. It may not be the most popular of shrines but it still had a large draw of regulars. And a few new faces. Souta was at the hospital with their mother so it was just her and gramps this year. It was hard to enjoy the holiday with half her family missing, but Kagome did her best not to show it on her face. 

The sound of the bamboo sticks rolling around in their box blocked out the sounds of voices. Kagome looked up from the girl currently shaking it for her omikuji to be taken aback by golden eyes on hers. They darted down but she had seen them and was sure. It was why she hastily gave the girl her fortune and chased after Inuyasha. 

Head down and hands in his pockets, he tried to escape. His long white hair stood out on his red hoodie and in the crowd. It was easy to follow behind him even as he blitzed through the people; bouncing others off his shoulders with his rush. It cleared the path for her to chase him, grabbing the hood of his jacket and pulling him to a stop.

“What are you doing here?”

He kept his back to her as he spoke. “It’s a public shrine, ain’t it?”

“Yeah but… there are hundreds of shrines between here and your house…”

“I wanted to come to this one!” He growled back at her.

She let go of his hood; fairly sure he wasn’t going anywhere. Then stepped around to look at his face. He watched her, his eyes glued to her as soon as she came into his view. It made her heart jump around again but she ignored it this time. “Given how we left things yesterday… this is the last place I expected to see you.”

His hands went up, tugging on his hat as if it had gotten loose. It hadn’t moved. “I uh… I spoke with Miroku. I overreacted yesterday. I’m sorry.”

Kagome found herself putting a hand on him, touching his bicep as if he would disappear. “You don’t have to tell me anything but if it's something I did or said that upset you; I’d like to know so I don’t do it again.”

With a heavy sigh, Inuyasha put his hands on her shoulders. She could feel the thick and scratchy material of his gloves through her haori and robes. The metal caps were cold from the winter air. “You didn’t do shit. Okay? Don’t worry about me and just be yourself. Don’t ever change.”

His eyes bored into hers and a smile grew in the place of her frown. Without asking, she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him with her. Because that’s what she would do as ‘herself’. “You haven’t gotten your omikuji yet!”

“Feh! I don’t need one. I don’t believe in that shit.”

The people around them gasped and stepped back so they didn’t get hit by the lightning that was about to strike the dumb man. She tugged on him hard so he was standing right next to her. “Believe what you want but don’t say stuff like that on the shrine grounds!”

Her hand slipped from his sleeve to his hand, gripping the middle of it with her thumb at his palm. She only let go to hand him the box of bamboo sticks. When he just held it dumbly, she took it back and stook out a number for him. Then grabbed his fortune for him. 

“This is a good look for you, by the way.” He said, gesturing to her robes as he did. 

“Shut up…”

“I’m being serious!”

Kagome rolled her eyes even as her cheeks got hot. Her very good-looking boss was telling her he liked her in priestess robes; how was she supposed to take that? “I suppose compared to the usual grime that you see me in, I do look nice.”

“That’s uh… that’s not what I meant.” Inuyasha had his eyes to the ground, looking at her feet. 

She was in desperate need of a change in conversation so she took his omikuji from him and read it. “Would you like your ‘general’ fortune first?” He gave a half-hearted nod and she continued. “半凶 han-kyou… half-curse? That’s weird…” 

She didn’t remember writing any fortunes like that. Her gramps must have written it. Kagome turned to find him but Inuyasha grabbed her arm with the omikuji and took it from her before she could move an inch. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He was looking anywhere but at her but with a nasty scowl on his face. “Do you want me to read the rest of it? You can pull another one if you want….”

He glanced at it then shoved it into his pocket. “I can manage. I’m sure you have better things to do?”

Not really, the fortunes were almost over now. Everyone that wanted one had come and gone already. Leaving her with her sheltered boss cringing at the many people around him. “You don’t get out much, do you?”

“I like to avoid it when I can.” He grumbled.

“Then… why are you out tonight? One of the busiest nights of the year…”

“I had to…” he started, daring to look up at her with his halcyon eyes, “make sure we were okay? And that you’d be back tomorrow?”

She understood his worry. Kagome had walked out and not come back before. But that was extenuating circumstances; she was chased out that time. “You don’t need to worry about that. I won’t be leaving you again… Sir.”

Kagome felt the need to add a ‘Sir’ at the end so her statement seemed more… formal. Without it, it almost sounded like a love confession. Which was silly. So silly….

“Alright then,” Inuyasha said while clearing his throat, “as long as we’re okay…”

“More than okay!” She really needed to stop talking. “Um… you should tie that fortune to the tree.” She pointed and looked, finding a large tree surrounded by a temporary fence just for people to tie the ‘bad’ fortunes to. “That’s the goshinboku, it protects this shrine and its patrons. It will take your bad fortune away for you.”

Inuyasha pulled the strip of paper out of his pocket and looked at it again. “I don’t think a tree can take this away…”

“Then give it to me.” He looked back at her, wide-eyed and flustered for some reason. “I’m a Miko, I’ll take responsibility for your ‘curse’ and make it go away.”

She was holding out a hand expectantly and Inuyasha stared at it for several seconds. His eyes flicked back up to hers and her heart skipped. At the same time, a smirk grew on his face but he pulled the paper back. “I can’t ask that. It’s mine to deal with, not you.”

“But I…”

“Thank you, Kagome. You’re a really nice person.”

It was a strange thing to say and she wasn’t so sure he meant it as a compliment. “Ummm… thank you?”

He chuckled as if uncomfortable and stepped back. “I’ll, uh, see you tomorrow.”

She watched him leave, his red hoodie and ball cap stood out to her eyes the whole way to the shrine steps. The strange beating her heart did had her weary of tomorrow. And the new year.

oOo

This was not going to be a good year. 

Other than her ‘boss’ telling her she was a good person, Kagome’s mom went from bad to worse. It was starting to look like this would be the year they buried their mother. But she couldn’t think about that; not with what she was facing currently.

A ransacked apartment.

They had broken the lock on her door and taken everything of worth. At least her laptop was with her but her small jewelry collection was strewn out all over the floor. They had taken the real stuff and broken the fake. She didn’t even need to look to know that the pearls that once belonged to her grandmother were gone. 

What wasn’t ‘steal-able’ was destroyed. They had even sliced her couch cushions and her mattress. She picked up the quilt her mother made her (back when she was more stable), as many clothes as she could fit into her large duffle (which was most of what she had thankfully), and her remaining books before walking out to never look back.

Kagome hadn’t had time to go to the hospital first before work (taking too long to survey the damage of her wasted apartment) which meant bringing her few remaining items with her to 684 Concord. Before the New Year, she could have gotten away with it. Inuyasha would have stayed up in his room or wherever the entire time she was there and never noticed her mood or the pile of belongings by the door.

However, as happy as it made her, Inuyasha was always visible while she was there now. Whether it was dinner together, greeting her at the door, making food requests, or standing around to watch her work (most times stepping in to help), Inuyasha was aware of her comings and goings now. More than Miroku who still came on Tuesdays of all days. Miroku could be there on the weekends, she supposed, Kagome was never there then.

All of this was nice, except for today when Inuyasha found her working on the outside of the windows. With the weather nice and her feeling suffocated by life in general at the moment Kagome couldn’t stand being inside today. At least being up on a ladder put some distance between them when he asked the inevitable question of the day. 

“Why is all your shit on the floor by the front door?!”

She groaned. “It’s temporary, I promise. I’ll be taking it all with me when I leave today.”

“That’s not why I was asking, Kagome. What happened to your place?!”

Inuyasha already knew about her problems but should she really tell him this? Was it any of his business? Kagome felt she could trust him without a doubt but that didn’t mean she should give him her burdens. He was her boss, nothing more. “A, uh… a pipe burst in my apartment…”

“Funny. Your stuff is completely dry and smells like detergent instead of dirty pipe water.”

Kagome glared down at him from her perch on top of the ladder. “You smelled my clothes?”

Inuyasha shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. She hated how sexy he looked. “I didn’t have to get close to notice the difference.” He glared back at her. “So what really happened?” She opened her mouth but he stopped her. “I hate liars, by the way. And I always know when a person is lying. Especially one as bad as you.”

“Fine,” she said, pissed and done with this ‘conversation’, “then I’ll just tell you it’s none of your business!”

“Oh yeah?! Then I’ll tell you to spill it or you’re fired!”

She turned so fast back to him she nearly knocked herself off the ladder. “You can’t do that!” The frown he wore cracked a little but it was just that it had been a really bad day; causing Kagome to start rambling. “You can’t! I… I need this job, please!”

“Alright, alright! I won’t fire you! Calm down!!”

Now close to tears, Kagome decided it was probably best she wasn’t on a ladder. Too bad she didn’t think of that before her vision blurred and her chest tightened. It distracted her and made her miss a step. It oddly felt as if she was falling in slow motion. That would explain how Inuyasha moved so fast. He hadn’t been that far from her and the ladder but she still expected to hit the ground instead of falling into his waiting arms. Inuyasha grabbed her so tight; it was as if he thought she would jump right out of them. But being held by him was like the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

Because now she was sobbing uncontrollably.

It was so bad she didn’t even know when she had stopped being outside; Inuyasha had carried them inside at some point. The couch she had cleaned weeks ago was gone. It had been replaced with a new one that was soft and fresh. So much that Kagome hadn’t so much as touched it since it appeared; worried she would ruin it. Now, she was plopped onto it; Inuyasha sitting next to her with an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. She took it greedily, leaning into him and worrying about the shame she would feel later. Kagome didn’t have room for any more emotions or feelings right now; too consumed with her grief and stress.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Inuyasha whispered when Kagome calmed to hiccups, “but you should. I could… I would help you, Kagome. With anything.”

She shook her head against his shoulder, making her hair all the more a mess. It matched her face. “It’s my problem..sss. I can’t ask anyone to help me with them…”

“Goddammit, Kagome, sometimes you need help! There’s nothing wrong with that!” She had lost her ‘pillow’; Inuyasha pulled away so he could look at her while he scolded. “Just… tell me one thing. One problem that I can help you with? Give me that much?”

“I could tell you all of them but there’s nothing you can do. My mother is dying, my family is sinking in debt, my father is… nowhere to help, and now I have no place to live.”

“You can live here.”

She blinked, waiting for this to be a dream or something. But Inuyasha’s face stayed completely serious and determined. “I can’t…”

“Why not? You’re here most of the time anyway! And this place is close to your school and the hospital…”

“Wow. You really followed me around, didn’t you?”

The flush on Inuyasha’s cheeks was adorable and she soaked it in before he turned away from her to hide it. “Think about it. I wouldn’t… charge you rent or anything.”

“Then it’s definitely a ‘no’. I can’t live here for free, that’s too much and I won’t take advantage of your kindness like that.” Kagome said, getting to shaky feet. “I’ll be fine. Thank you, Inuyasha.”

He didn’t press and the rest of the day was long but uneventful. Inuyasha forbade her from doing any more work on the ladder so she spent the remainder of her workday in the kitchen, cooking. Even though it didn’t work out; Kagome appreciated the heartfelt offer Inuyasha gave her. She was tempted to take it too. It would be more than convenient. But the offer to live rent-free was a bit too much. It woke her up to the reality and just how desperate she must have looked to him. He already knew how pathetic she was; her embarrassment was now legendary.

She mumbled a few words to Inuyasha before she left; unable to look him in the eyes. He said nothing while she quickly gathered her stuff and left. The train was awkward with all her stuff in her arms. It felt like everyone was looking at her. At least, that was what she told herself to keep from feeling so uncomfortable while Kagome felt as if she was being watched. 

What she should have done, instead, was look for familiar or eerie faces in the crowd. 

But that wouldn’t have helped her really since the ones that blocked her path now were not on the train. One block from the hospital and she was faced with a wall of thugs. Why were there so many? She was just one little woman. 

Knowing instantly what this was about, she set down her bags and squared up to them, hoping to look a little intimidating. “Look, assholes, I have no clue where my dad is. I’ve told you this again and again but you don’t seem to listen. Now, you’ve really pissed me off. Wrecking my apartment? Come on, that is just RUDE!!”

They didn’t back up, they surrounded; circling her like the kill she was for them. “We get it; Daddy doesn’t want to pay us. The boss figures that if we rough one of his kids up, he’ll come running.”

Kagome swallowed the bile in her throat and glared as best she could at the one threatening her. “He won’t come.”

“Let’s find out? Now, who’s it gonna be? You or the boy?”

Something came over her that she could only explain as maternal instincts but Kagome shifted her weight a little and punched the guy threatening her little brother right in the jaw. “I told you not to touch him!!”

Kagome’s fist was on fire; probably broke something so she made sure to flex her hand as much as she could so it didn’t get stiff in a fist. The men only moved in closer. “Hey, hey, we got a live one!”

Hands were on her and she fought against them as much as she could. It was pointless but she wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Her foot caught one in the gut and another in the groin before she was thrown to the ground and ‘sat’ on. 

The one on top of her leaned into her ear and his breath smelled strongly of cigarettes. “I’m not into hurting little kids. But you’re not a kid, are you, Baby?”

The air was suddenly filled with tension and the feet she could see shuffled around as if afraid. “And here I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up?”

“Get off her.” It sounded like Inuyasha but far more visceral. 

One man fell to the ground and shook hard. Kagome got a good look; he had been there last time at Christmas. His eyes darted from her to whoever it was behind her with such terror in his eyes, she actually felt a little sorry for him. He scrambled away while other bodies started to hit the ground around her. The weight on her disappeared and she watched as a man flew in the air to land hard on the pavement a few feet away. Kagome didn’t move; she was in shock. She thought for sure this was going to be it for her and yet the men that attacked were all bleeding instead of her. 

Hands grabbed her again and she fought against them. But they only flipped her over. She swallowed a big gulp of air at the bright red eyes that greeted her but relaxed quickly when she realized it was -in fact- Inuyasha. “Can you stand?”

The tenderness in his voice didn’t match the anger on his face. The shock of it all left her speechless so she nodded and he helped her to her feet. A few of her attackers got to their feet with her, now a good foot from them. 

“This isn’t over, monster. The boss wants his money and he will get it.” One yelled before dashing away. Like she needed the reminder; they hadn’t given up yet and they never would.

“Are you alright?” She was still dazed, which was why Inuyasha was holding her chin in his fingers –again- and looking her face over closely. “Your cheek is bruised.”

Kagome didn’t pull away from his touch; noting that his skin was touching hers. “Your gloves…”

“Huh?”

“You’re… you’re not wearing your gloves.” He frowned and dropped his hand, but not before she caught a good look at his fingers. “Your nails!”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry about it. Okay? You got enough to worry about…”

She ignored him and grabbed his hand, looking hard at the long claws on the tips of his fingers. “Whoa. These look deadly!”

“They are.” And to prove it, he didn’t rip away from her. He gently pulled her hand off his. “Just what the fuck is going on, Kagome?”

“You said I didn’t have to tell you…”

“That was before!!” He growled, pacing before her and ranting. “This is the second time I’ve had to save your ass from those guys. You said it’s not your debt but they seem to think it is? AND they were inside your place?! No, time for quiet understanding is over and now you have to spill!!”

“I…” she took a step back from him but he took one forward, “I need to get to my mom…” He sighed loudly and cursed under his breath. But then she grabbed his arm. “Come with me? I’ll… explain inside. But I really need to relieve Gramps.”

“You’ll tell me everything?!”

“Yes.”

He said nothing else, picking up her things for her and following her inside.


	5. Chapter Five

_“But maybe you never really had someone, she thought now. Maybe, no matter how much you loved them, they could slip through your fingers like water, and there was nothing you could do about it.”_

_**― Cassandra Clare, City of Fallen Angels** _

She hated the smell of hospitals. The mixture of cleaners and medicines. And she wasn’t alone, the wrinkled nose on Inuyasha’s face giving him away. Not that he was hiding. He did pull his cap lower on his head as if to hide his face; it made Kagome wonder if he was a wanted criminal or something?

Gramps gave them a look, eyeing Inuyasha intently. Even more when Inuyasha didn’t try to introduce himself or remove his hat. “Gramps, this is Inuyasha. The guy that owns the house I work at?”

Her grandfather didn’t relax at all; gathering his newspapers and other trash in a huff. “Looks like a hoodlum to me.” The ‘hoodlum’ didn’t seem bothered at all by her grandfather’s harshness, standing to the side to let him pass. Gramps lifted a finger and pressed it into Inuyasha’s chest. “Kagome’s got enough to worry about so don’t give her any trouble!”

“Grampa!”

“No worries, old man. I won’t add to her pile of responsibilities.”

Gramps left and Inuyasha looked like he was going to follow behind him. “Where are you going?” He looked confused like he forgot or something. “You said you wanted answers?”

Inuyasha hesitated; suddenly unsure. But after a beat of his internal struggling, he pulled up a chair opposite her with her mother between them. His eyes were glued to the sleeping woman and he wore a pained expression on his face. “What’s wrong with your mom?”

“Weakened immune system. Which led to a weakened respiratory system. Now, if she even gets a small cold she gets hospitalized. We just got her home for a few months when she got sick again and this time…” she stopped, unable to say the words out loud.

When she pulled her eyes from her mother’s face, Inuyasha was staring right back at her. His eyes were gold again. Had that been real or was she just scared like the last time she saw him with red eyes?

“Where’s your dad?”

Inuyasha was continuing the story she promised while she tried not to get distracted again. “Dead.”

“Wha… why don’t you tell those assholes that?!”

She sighed and fell back to her chair. “If I tell them dad is dead then his debt will be officially ours. This way, they keep looking for him instead of circling us.”

“They’re still circling you. Do you have any clue how much danger you’re in? They came to your home! Both of them!!”

She jumped and put a hand on his arm. If he kept being loud, they would both get kicked out. “I know but… what choice do I have? I’m working as much as I can! Maybe… maybe I should just quit school? Get a real job and put all the money towards my family like I should…”

“The fuck you’re going to do that. It’s not your fault your dad was shit!” It was more than that but given his tone and attitude, Kagome thought it best not to fight him on it. “These guys won’t stop even after they get the money. They’re going to keep squeezing you.”

“Better me than my family.” She said, looking at her mother again.

“Does anyone else know? Your mom, brother, gramps,... boyfriend?”

She was ready to answer him but the last one caught her off guard. “I don’t have a boyfriend.” Something flicker on his lips and she watched it, but it was quick and didn’t show what it was. “No, no one knows. Just you.”

This time, something flickered on his mouth and she figured it out. It was a smile that he fought off. “So that means you trust me?” When she nodded, he dropped his face and looked at the bed instead of her. “You shouldn’t…” he whispered but she heard it and his head popped back up before she could question him about it, “you’re going to come live with me.”

“Wha… no! I can’t do that! I already told you….”

“Next time I may not be around. What will you do then? Or if they break into the shrine? Come here to this hospital room? They’re targeting you and soon they’ll use your family against you. I’m sorry, Kagome, but you don’t have a choice. You need to stay away from anyone you care about.”

She opened her mouth but Kagome murdered the words that threatened to come out. Because she almost told him that she cared about him too. That would have been awkward and inappropriate. Other than her apprehension to take advantage of her kind and sweet boss, Kagome had no other choice or options. She nodded her head in silence and Inuyasha got to his feet. 

He left without a word. Or so she thought, returning a moment later with a bag of ice he got from somewhere. “Ice your hand or it’ll be useless tomorrow. You should probably get it looked at…”

“I’m fine,” Kagome said, not sure what shape her hand was in only that it hurt.

He didn’t look convinced but he didn’t press it. “I’ll take your things home. And get a room ready for you.”

“Inuyasha,” he froze at the door, keeping his back to her, “thank you.”

Her things in his hands, he nodded and stepped out. She watched him for as long as she could. The red hoodie and baseball cap he wore so much looked strange with his gloves back on. The long, thick braid of pure white hair down his back got him looks. If he didn’t hide his face so much he would get looks for that instead. His golden eyes and strong jaw were hard to miss.

“Oh god… I have to live with that?” Kagome murmured to herself.

It was settling in now; she was going to be living with her boss? In all his strangeness, he was still gorgeous. And extremely kind to her; more than she deserved. Kagome melted into her chair, covering her face with her hands (even her stiff one) as images of Inuyasha all ‘casual’ inevitably filled her head. Like him in a towel. How the hell did that get in there? Kagome cursed herself and her imagination. 

Then, she focused instead on whether or not she would finally see him without something on top of his head.

oOo

She had to force herself to go up the stairs. No matter how exhausted she was; since Inuyasha refused to let her sleep on the couch downstairs. So night after night now for almost a week, Kagome had to swallow her fear and go up to the upper level of the sketchy steps.

The room Inuyasha had prepared for her was… nice. It didn’t fit the rest of the house at all. Once she got past the stairs and the crooked hallway, she was fine. It was easy to forget the precariousness of the home when inside her room of cream-colored walls and neutral-colored bedding. Her grandmother’s quilt looked nice on the bed; a small twin that was pushed into a corner with odd-shaped pillows for a daybed. The wood floor was a little rough but a small woven rug sat in the middle and helped to cover it. Her room also had a lot of windows, all clean and bright, with white curtains that glowed in the daylight. Add in the light-colored wicker furniture and it was like she stepped into another world when she was in her room. If she didn’t have a job to do, she would never leave it when she was home.

But she did have a job, rising from her solace and a super soft bed to get breakfast ready. Normally, she would step out into the hall and rush down it to safety. However, this morning she was stopped by voices. They were coming from Inuyasha’s room. She wasn’t really eavesdropping, the house had little to no soundproofing and his room was right across from hers. Kagome had inadvertently stepped into the conversation with a wall between her and it.

“She’s living here now?” Miroku’s voice crowed. “That’s great!”

“Great?! Her goddamn life is at risk!” Inuyasha growled.

Kagome didn’t kid herself in the slightest. She was here because thugs were after her for money she didn’t have. Inuyasha was kind enough to offer his home and protection to her. It was why she cooked for him without complaint. That wasn’t in her job description but she didn’t care. It was the least she could do for him. And he seemed to like her cooking.

“Oh, calm down! If you thought it was a problem then you wouldn’t have brought her here.” Miroku laughed.

“You’re right. I should have just gotten her an apartment somewhere. But I was afraid those asshats would find her wherever I put her…” Inuyasha was silent and Kagome felt her heart in her throat, “I don’t… want to lose her.”

Kagome stepped back and started for the stairs like she should have moments ago before listening in on a private conversation. Her cheeks were on fire now so that was her punishment for invading Inuyasha’s privacy. She felt a little better when, even at the stairs, she could still hear Miroku as he spoke. 

“Then you should tell her the truth.”

She was in the kitchen (acting as if nothing happened) when Miroku found his way downstairs. “Oh, Miroku? Good morning. I didn’t know you were here.”

“I came a bit early. Needed to check up on something with the Master. Say, Kagome, since you live here now, what do you think?”

Miroku’s sudden prying caused her to drop the pan she had harder on the stove than she meant to. “Think?”

“About the place?” He said with a broad smile.

“Oh... I uh… it’s nice?”

“Uh-huh. And what do you think about Inuyasha?”

Her face was burning again; turning from Miroku as much as possible to dig into the fridge for the eggs. “He’s.. uh… a very nice boss.”

“Come now, Kagome.” Miroku was close to her; behind her. “You can do better than that…”

“Miroku.”

They both turned at Inuyasha’s growl. Miroku wasn’t affected by it while Kagome shivered from the cool malice of his tone. But she quickly heated back up when she got a good look at her ‘boss’. It wasn’t different than any other morning; Inuyasha had his usual t-shirt and cloth pants on as well as a bandana wrapped around the top of his head. She had seen him without them but Inuyasha still wore his gloves all the time. He didn’t wear them because of germs; he had to wear them because of his crazy sharp nails. 

Which made even less sense cause couldn’t he just clip them??

Miroku made himself a cup of the coffee Kagome had just made and stood off to the side. Leaving Inuyasha with a clear shot to her. He hesitated and she got back to cooking, only to have him stand right next to her. “Kagome… there’s something I need to tell you…”

She set the tools in her hands down and faced him. He was super close; as if he wanted to whisper what he had to tell her. She already knew Miroku knew (whatever it was) since he was the one to tell Inuyasha to tell her. But with the way he was fidgeting while Miroku was cool in the corner; it must be something that would affect her far more than Miroku.

“I should have told you a while ago… the thing is… I…” he froze. His mouth hung open with his eyes stuck on her. It was like time froze with him and Kagome struggled to breathe while she waited for the world to start spinning again. “I asked Miroku to take you to school, that's cool right?” Inuyasha spoke as if trying to catch up with the missed time.

The world wasn’t the only thing spinning; Kagome’s brain was dizzy from the lack of oxygen and confusion. That wasn’t really what he needed to tell her, was it? “Um… sure.”

Miroku’s face told her it wasn’t what he had planned for Inuyasha to tell her. Or that he had agreed to take her to school. But he adjusted quickly and silently, walking away with his coffee to another part of the house. It was large enough, they didn't have to see one another most of the time. Kagome contributed that to why she only saw Inuyasha the same amount as she used to. The only new thing was breakfast but they only seemed to spend mealtimes together. The rest of the time was spent apart but that wasn’t all Inuyasha’s fault. She was at school, the hospital, studying, or working.

“So.. uh… what are your plans this weekend?” Inuyasha asked when they both sat with a plate of food before them. 

Kagome had friends but she never spent time with them outside of school. She never had the time and now wasn’t any different. “I’ll visit my family and study. Why? Is there something you need me to do?”

“No, no nothing…” He muttered.

“Sango says you haven’t seen her in a while,” Miroku added, appearing again with his cup empty, “she’s worried about you.”

Inuyasha growled under his breath. “I’m going to spend time with her this weekend…”

“Is that all? That’s not a lot of time And with your guest, you really should be spending more time with her...”

“It’s all I’m giving right now! It’ll be enough; Sango’ll be more than satisfied.” 

The two had their strange argument while Kagome kept her head down. She had been wondering if Inuyasha had a girlfriend. He was handsome and mysterious. Of course, he did. Now, she would probably have to meet Sango so she could remain here. Because, what girl would be okay with their man living with another woman? Unless Kagome was so low on the pole that Sango didn’t consider her a threat? Some people were secure in their relationships; maybe Sango didn’t care? 

Kagome found herself wanting both; to be a threat so she wasn’t a nothing in Inuyasha’s mind but also not so she didn’t have to meet the woman her boss loved.

It was a strange place to be but in the end, it was all just jealousy. She didn’t know why but Kagome didn’t like the feeling; being jealous of Inuyasha’s girlfriend. It was why she hurriedly finished her breakfast and gathered her things. In the end, she had to wait for Miroku to get his ass in gear; standing next to his car and shifting her weight on her heels. Inuyasha was saying something to him even as Miroku extracted himself from the house. Kagome watched from the distance, not knowing what they were saying and straining to hear for some reason. It wasn’t her business but she just couldn’t stop herself. 

The car ride started in warm silence until they hit the main road. Then Miroku sighed in relief for some reason and relaxed in the seat in front of her. “Whew, I didn’t know if I was going to make it today!” It made no sense to her but Kagome was in a foul mood since the mentioning of Sango. “So, Kagome dear, how are things living with Inuyasha?”

“Things are… fine.”

“I’m assuming you haven’t had anymore… bad nights? Since you haven’t run screaming from the place…”

“I didn’t run screaming! And even if I did, you would have too. Inuyasha was terrifying!!”

Miroku chuckled at her. “I agree completely. I would have run screaming too. And I’d be lying if I said I never ran from Inuyasha when he got in one of his moods.”

Looking out her window instead, Kagome thought about the man they were discussing in earnest. “But… he’s not scary. The opposite. He’s really…. kind. And even though he was some kind of rage monster that night, he apologized and hasn’t done it since.”

“Even staying there at night, you haven’t been scared or threatened?”

Now she glared at the back of Miroku’s head. “I have but Inuyasha didn’t have anything to do with it! The house is a little creepy at night and he stays in his room after dark. So it’s a little lonely but nothing I’m not used to!”

“Are you going to find somewhere else to live? Since this one is so… creepy?”

She hadn’t considered it. Maybe she should have but when Miroku suggested it, it just made Kagome defensive and angry. “The house may be creepy but I’m not about to punch a gift horse in the mouth! Inuyasha saved my ass! And if he has a problem with me living there then he should tell me to my face, not send his friend!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Inuyasha didn’t send me to say anything! I was just asking for your sake, not his. You don’t have to stay there -live with him- if you don’t want to.” Miroku cried defensively.

“Oh,” she whispered, “sorry I just….”

“Awfully defensive there, aren’t we?” Miroku was looking at her in his rearview mirror with a smirk on his face. “I suppose it’s natural to get so worked up over one’s employer?”

The grin on his face told Kagome he was kidding. Since she had never felt protective of any of her other employers in the past. It wasn’t natural for her; which had to be why it felt so weird now? “As I said, he saved me. Of course, I’m defensive. And I have nowhere else to go…”

“Is that the reason you’re staying?”

Was it? Yes, of course, it was! Even if she found another place to live, those guys were still after her. And Inuyasha was right, it was only a matter of time before they started targeting her family. That’s what she needed to focus on; how to get those guys off her back and keep them away from her family. Not how she did or didn’t feel about her boss.

oOo

Her first weekend in her new home and it was… long. It was only Saturday and already Kagome was bored. She had spent the better half of the day studying and on her homework. Now that it was night, she didn’t have anything to do. 

Normally, she would go visit her mom. But she wasn’t sure that was a good idea anymore. Souta was there now too so she really should stay away. She couldn’t go out because those guys were likely to show up again. The only thing she could do was watch stuff on her phone (since there was no tv here). 

Inuyasha hadn’t been home all day. That didn’t help her at all, being all alone in the creepy house as well as figuring he was spending the day with his girlfriend. He had been around on weekends in the past, why was now so different? Had her presence messed up his schedule? He wasn’t going to ‘see’ Sango as he used to according to Miroku. Was that because she was here?

Kagome shook her head, laying on the new couch that had appeared a few weeks ago with her phone in her hands and hovering above her face. She wasn’t even watching, thinking too much about her boss again. It was getting annoying how much her attention went to him even when he wasn’t around. She attributed it to why she saw his golden eyes staring down at her now. Except this wasn’t her imagination or another one of her dreams. 

“What are you doing?”

This was real; Inuyasha was hovering over her while she laid out on the couch. She instantly sat up and he stepped back. He was in sweat pants and a t-shirt with his gloves and hat on again. He never seemed to have the top of his head exposed and he hid his hands as often as he could. “I was just… watching something.”

“On your phone?”

“There’s no tv here.”

Inuyasha scratched at the back of his head, careful not to knock his hat even a little and Kagome watched carefully. “There’s one here. It’s in my room. I can… move it down here for you?”

“No, it’s fine…”

“Seriously I don’t mind…”

Inuyasha was already backing away to get the promised tv. She jumped to her feet and followed. “Is it a big tv?”

He shrugged. “I guess so?”

“I’ll help you then.”

Inuyasha stopped and faced her quickly. “It’s fine, I can get it myself.”

She should let it go and give him his privacy. But no part of her wanted that so Kagome continued to push. “Look, if it’s a big screen, you can’t carry it by yourself. Strong or not, it’s gonna be tricky maneuvering it.” Kagome didn’t know what was coming out of her mouth at the moment but Inuyasha didn’t stop her from going around him to the stairs. “Privacy or not, you need my help. And… haven’t you seen my room? It’s only fair I get to see yours.”

The small spell Inuyasha had been under broke and he chased after her, coming up right behind her on the stairs. “I haven’t seen your room… since you moved in…”

Kagome rolled her eyes but also sheltered her breath. She couldn’t believe that worked, Inuyasha moving around her to get to his door first but not keeping her from entering in behind him. Kagome was getting a deeper look into her boss and the excitement she felt from it… was more than it probably should be but she couldn’t shake it! Her heart was pounding in her chest as she stepped through the threshold. 

The first thing she noted? The room was huge! Easily four times the size of hers. It was as if Inuyasha had knocked down walls and expanded the room. His bed was on one end; black walls and red sheets. While the other end was a workout room. In the middle was a large desk that was covered with computer screens. It split the two spaces and stood out hard. 

“That’s where I work.” Inuyasha pointed at the desk even though she was already staring, hence the explanation.

The tv was on the bedroom side and Kagome dragged herself away from all the interesting things that were in Inuyasha’s room to help him. “What do you do for work?”

“Stocks.”

Oh. So he was a daytrader? That was… impressive but not what she expected. Although, Kagome wasn’t sure what to expect. It did make all this odder because her room and Inuyasha’s room didn’t fit the rest of the house. Inuyasha’s room looked like a rich kid’s wet dream while the rest was a nightmare. Her room was like a cute bubble.

The two of them got the rather large tv downstairs and set it up. There wasn’t cable but there was the internet. And it was a smart tv. 

“So…” Inuyasha started, his voice full of odd tension, “why aren’t you… out somewhere tonight?”

She shrugged, looking through her options to watch. “Well, I have a bunch of assholes tailing me that whenever they find me will probably tear me to pieces. I don’t think I should be going out any time soon.”

“What about your mom?”

She looked at her fingers wrapped around the remote; Inuyasha’s intense stare was felt on the back of her neck. “Souta is with her. She’ll… be alright. And if anything changes… I’m close enough that I could make it before…”

Kagome stopped there. The words were unwilling to leave her throat so she choked on them instead. She wasn’t sure if he caught on or just felt like moving on since Inuyasha didn’t press about sudden silence. Only that he wanted to end it. “I guess you’re stuck here, ain’t ya?”

“If they ever showed up on campus, I would have gone virtual by now.”

“Maybe... You should? Go virtual? Then you wouldn’t have to go out at all. Until this is all settled that is.”

Kagome landed on a movie and squealed. Inuyasha had a pained look on his face when she glanced at him but she didn’t think she’d been that loud. Maybe her voice was just that annoying? “Look! I love this movie!”

“La Belle et la Bête? Seriously?!” He growled.

Now she hesitated on playing it. “You don’t like it?”

Inuyasha was staring at her, his eyes were searching her face but what could he possibly be looking for? “It uh… hits a little too close to home.”

“How?”

He said nothing more, sitting back on the couch and silently agreeing to join her. Which was good because she wanted him to stay with her but didn’t have the courage to ask. “It’s in French.” He pointed out after the first few scenes. “Do you understand it?”

“A little. I need practice for school anyway. Does it… bother you?”

Inuyasha slumped down, grabbing his cap as he did to make sure it didn’t go anywhere. Kagome couldn’t stop herself from staring at it and imagining what could lay beneath it. “No.” That was all he said and they continued to watch in silence. 

She was glancing at him from the corner of her eye as much as she could. Until it got to her favorite scene that is. “Cela peut t'aider à oublier ton passé mais je ne peux pas.” Kagome said with the actress on the screen. “Do you know what that means?” 

The rush she got from the film was embarrassing but unavoidable. It was all made worse with Inuyasha next to her for some reason. As if he made her heart rush faster while listening to the characters declare their words of devotion. Watching them fall in love was hard with him so near. And yet, she looked at him when she asked; his eyes were on her and locked her in his hold. “It means Belle wants the Beast to face his past.”

“You speak French?”

Inuyasha shrugged like it was no big deal. While Kagome crowed inside, knowing a little more about the man next to her. It wasn’t much but add in all the other things she had learned this evening; she had seen his room and now this, it was enough to feel a bit closer to him.

Staring back at the screen, she watched as the pack of thieves entered the magical woods. Protected by the gods of the forest; they had no chance of escaping with their lives. She was going to comment on it, but when she turned to look back at Inuyasha he was asleep. With his face slack, he looked like a little boy; trusting and innocent. It made the gloves on his hands look even stranger.

Carefully and slowly, she removed his gloves. Then stared at his large hands for a few seconds. The sharp tips he had on the ends of his fingers were… odd but (for some reason) they didn’t take away from the attractiveness of his hands. They were large; his knuckles a bit bruised and Kagome wondered how he hurt himself. Regardless, they were manly and she always liked that when it came to men’s hands.

Now, she stared at his hat. It was pushing it but it couldn’t be comfortable to sleep in. No matter how worn it was. Kagome had already removed his gloves to help him be more relaxed. Although she wanted Inuyasha to have a good sleep she also just wanted to see the top of his head. It was an itch that wouldn’t go away until scratched. So she slipped her fingers under the cap and slowly began to pull it off. But then hands grabbed her wrists hard; so focused on what was under the hat, Kagome missed Inuyasha waking up. Now he growled under her while she remained frozen (nearly straddling him didn’t help either), and her body flared with a flush. His anger was clear; he was pissed. And yet, she couldn’t let go of his hat in hopes of pulling it off and revealing him at last.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

She shrugged, hoping to play it off while her heart did somersaults. “I’m just… trying to help you…”

“Help me?!!”

“Yeah… you know? Be comfortable?” Inuyasha’s eyes widened a little and she watched them swirl with colors. “You fell asleep and I just thought… that the gloves and hat would be uncomfortable…”

Inuyasha sighed and kept his hold on her wrists. “Thanks. But I’m fine. I don’t need you to care for me…”

“But… I do. Care. About you.” She stumbled.

She didn’t think it was possible but his eyes went even wider and his grip on her lessened. He still pulled her hands away from his cap though, releasing them when they were safely away from revealing his head. Kagome didn’t even notice; watching Inuyasha as he watched her, his eyes large as he looked over her face. The only other thing she caught was how his apple danced for a second. It was like he was nervous for some reason.

He broke away from their staring match and grabbed her hips; carefully slinging her back to the couch next to him. Only to pop up right after. “I’m going to bed.”

Kagome watched his back as he disappeared (broad and manly too) and listened as he climbed the stairs. She quickly followed but made sure they didn’t cross paths on their way to bed. For a while, Kagome stared at her ceiling, lost in thought. Her mind replayed the events on the couch over and over again. Including going into Inuyasha’s room. He had been reluctant but his room was clean and impressive. And when she tried to slip off his hat, her fingers remembered the soft silk that was his hair. Inuyasha’s hat doesn’t hide unruly locks or a bald spot.

She wasn’t sure what Inuyasha was hiding and she might never know. But her goal from here on out was to see the top of his head. Kagome wouldn’t be satisfied until she saw it and there was no part of that she felt was rational.

However, she couldn’t get rid of the need so she would just have to take the risk.


	6. Chapter Six

_“But maybe you never really had someone, she thought now. Maybe, no matter how much you loved them, they could slip through your fingers like water, and there was nothing you could do about it.”_   
_― **Cassandra Clare,** **City of Fallen Angels**_

Kagome was busy, taking her frustration out of the soft dirt next to the backside of the house. It had been over a month now and she was no closer to seeing the top of Inuyasha’s head. Whatever he hid under his hat and bandana was a complete mystery to her still.

Casually stretching and yawning while they sat on the couch together at night so she could accidentally knock his cap off? Foiled; Inuyasha moved out of the way of her arm the first few attempts and now wears a bandana when they watch movies at night together.

Asking to borrow his head covering when she’s outside and hot? Yeah, Kagome wasn’t sure why she thought that would work.

Even trying to knock the man over and thus causing his hat to fall off was impossible. No matter how or when Kagome tripped to fall on Inuyasha, he caught her. It was annoying… and attractive. But given her goal, it was mostly annoying.

So now, she took her trowel and stabbed the dark earth with it. Kagome was focusing on her job (as she should be) and with spring approaching, she needed to get plants in the ground. With several packets of seeds and a lot of bulbs, Kagome had her work cut out for her. At least it was a nice day; sun shining, birds chirping, and a pleasant warm breeze. Spring was here.

As it usually did when she did anything out of the ordinary (instead of sticking to cleaning the inside of the house), a shadow fell over her. She looked up but the sun blotted out his image. Kagome still knew it was Inuyasha and that he had his ratty baseball cap on. “What are you doing?”

She was pretty sure it was obvious; covered in dirt and a little sweat, Kagome wished he never saw her like this but that ship had sailed long ago. “I’m planting flowers.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re nice? They promote wellness both mentally and physically? And they’ll make the place look less abandoned.”

“If you hate this place so much, then maybe you should find somewhere else to live?”

His tone was a mix of anger and sadness that Kagome really didn’t get. It was also far from the first time Inuyasha said something like this. He wanted to be rid of her, didn’t he? “I probably should. I’ve overstayed my welcome as it is.”

Kagome was still focused on the dirt; unable to stand to look at him whenever he talked like this. “I just meant… you don’t have to force yourself to be here. That’s all.”

“What choice do I have?”

Inuyasha had brought up her leaving many times but this was the first time Kagome conceded to the idea like this. Usually, she fought back and fussed until he caved; begging her to stay and assuring her he didn’t mean whatever harsh words he had said. She was sure it was all due to him feeling guilty. He was guilty about Kagome’s situation and how he was living with another woman instead of his girlfriend. Who he went to see every weekend now. Inuyasha’s girlfriend had to be a wildcat too because he always came home exhausted.

Shaking her head free of the thoughts (ones that plagued her almost as much as the top of Inuyasha’s head), Kagome dug a deep hole for the rose she wanted to plant. Inuyasha was silent as she reached for the bulb; thick branches sticking out of the bagged flower, ready for spring. She had five roses to plant, all brought to her by Miroku at her request. She didn’t get why he thought it was so funny that she wanted to plant roses. Maybe it had something to do with the hostility hitting her back from her boss; she could feel his glare as she placed the plant.

It was distracting and Kagome completely blamed him for why she grabbed one of the branches instead of the wrapped roots. A thick, strong thorn made it through her glove and pricked her finger. She wrenched back and flung off her glove in time to see the blood pool on top of her skin.

Inuyasha was so fast, Kagome couldn’t even comprehend it. He must have leapt from the spot he stood as soon as she cursed in pain. His gloved hand wrapped around her naked one and sent his glare to her wound instead of the back of her head. Her mouth popped open with a squeak when he put her injured finger in his mouth; sanitizing the wound without hesitation or asking for permission.

Her finger in his mouth, his eyes on hers, and the two of them on their knees before one another it was like the whole world stopped spinning again. Soon, she would float away to space with how light she felt. Or rather, how light-headed; her finger was in Inuyasha’s mouth! He gently sucked on her injured digit before pulling it out; the pressure of his lips left her fingertip last but hitting her all the way to her thighs. She could feel his hands on her; both were on her hand and wrist, working his fingers across her skin like a massage. With her sight locked in his eyes, Kagome could only go by what she felt. And it felt like he was spreading her hand out to inspect the rest of it with his touch.

“You should be more careful.” He whispered and her eyes went to his mouth. “Just because it looks pretty doesn’t mean it can’t still hurt you.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat and a small smile spread on Inuyasha’s lips. “Are you talking about yourself?”

“Keh! You think I’d call myself pretty?”

“Then what exactly are you…”

“You. I’m talking about you, Kagome.”

“I would never hurt anyone.”

Inuyasha raised one brow as he studied her. “I believe you. You wouldn’t hurt someone that didn’t deserve it. Not on purpose anyway.”

It was a high expectation; never hurting anyone unintentionally. Even the best intentions can end in hurt feelings. Kagome couldn’t defend herself; Inuyasha was right and there was nothing she could say about it. He still didn’t let go of her hand though; talking about her hurting him and he held onto her tight like she would fly away in the breeze. She still felt like she might as the breeze turned into the wind.

Inuyasha wasn’t the only one to not notice. It took Kagome a full minute to pull away from his face and realize his hat was gone. It was currently tumbling away across the yard. Her mouth opened in another squeak. Too late, Inuyasha twisted as he fell back; crawling to catch it. But it was out of reach.

“Shit!” He grumbled, stumbling to his feet.

While Kagome remained on her knees in consternation. He had… ears… on top of his head. She hadn’t imagined that the night Inuyasha scared the shit out of her.

By the time Inuyasha had his hat shoved back onto his head, Kagome was on her feet and gliding up to him. He didn’t even try to stop her as she ripped the hat back off. What point was there in hiding it now, she had seen all.

He cursed under his breath and grabbed the bridge of his nose tight. “If you want to move out, I’ll hire you some protection.”

“You have ears on top of your head…”

“I’ll even help you with the rent so you can live somewhere nicer than this and close to your mom and school.”

“Dog ears. White, triangle-shaped, dog ears. On top of your head…”

“Kagome!” He grabbed her shoulders so fast it caused her to jump. But not lower the hand she had inching towards one of his fluffy ears to touch. “Are you listening to me?”

“Why do you have dog ears?”

He sighed and released her. Kagome went back to reaching for his ears. He didn’t stop her; cringing only slightly away at first when her fingertips brushed the sensitive fur at the base of his ear. Tracing upwards, she saw Inuyasha shiver from her touch. After she had fully examined them, he stepped away; roughly tugging off his gloves and tossing them to the side. When he turned around, it was like he expected her to react in some way; seeing him in full like this for the first time. She had already seen the claws so the ears were still her main interest.

“Before I explain… you have to promise me that if you’re scared, you’ll be honest with me. I meant it when I said I’d help you live elsewhere.” He went silent but continued to stare at her. “Well? Do you promise?”

The ears had her fully distracted. “Oh uh, yeah I promise.”

She even made an ‘X’ across her heart with her finger. It made a smile flash on Inuyasha’s face but he quickly sobered. Deep in thought, Inuyasha looked around and Kagome didn’t know if he was looking for someone else to be listening or thinking of what to say… or both.

“You know… the movie we watched the other day? La Belle et la Bete?” She nodded slowly, unclear on where this was going. “Well… I’m the beast in that story.”

oOo

They were sitting at the table in the kitchen. Inuyasha had his hat back on but his gloves laid between them on the table. He had his arms crossed over his chest and an agitated disposition on his face. While Kagome was bubbling with the need to learn more.

“Explain.”

“I just did.”

She huffed at him and pointed a finger at his face. “You said, ‘I’m the beast’ and that’s it! That tells me nothing!”

“What more is there to say? You saw the monster in the film. I’m ten times worse than that guy.”

“Okay, one; not true. That guy was a lusty rage monster that expected Belle to just love him out of survival or something. And two; that’s a movie! A fairy tale!”

“You’re right. It is a fairy tale. This,” he gestured to himself hotly, “is just a nightmare.”

Grabbing it out of the air, Kagome had Inuyasha’s hand in hers; holding him still. “Just tell me… how it happened. How did you get dog ears on your head?”

He didn’t pull away and she considered that a step in the right direction. Even if he was refusing to look at her while he spoke. “Five years ago… I asked my girlfriend to marry me.” Kagome’s heart fell into her belly and bounced back up into her chest but she forced herself to pay attention. “When she said ‘yes’, I told her my darkest secret. I… was a… demon.”

He looked up at her then. Maybe gauging if she believed him. Kagome was just confused. “A demon? Like from the Bible?”

“Bible, Quran, Tora, you name it and if it’s a religious text it mentions demons. Me.”

She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do with that information. On the one hand, it meant she had to believe that demons were real. Growing up in a shrine, Gramps had told her many stories about demons being real but she had never believed him. “Wow, I guess Gramps wasn’t lying?”

Inuyasha chuckled (some of his tension falling away) and squeezed her hands while they wrapped around his. “The old man was telling you the truth; mostly. But I’m not a full demon anymore.”

“Wait, what?”

He sighed and fell back to his chair, sliding his hand out of her hold carefully. “My girlfriend.. fiancé… uh Kikyo, didn’t take it as well as you are now. So she decided to find a way to make me… human.”

“Without even asking you?” She yelled, her anger billowing over instantly.

He nodded and his apple bobbed again. “She found another demon that promised to make me human for her. But he was lying. A half-demon, Naraku, had always hated me and my family. When he told Kikyo he would make me human for her, it was a lie. He twisted her and used her against me. And instead of making me human, he made me a half-demon like him.”

“I don’t understand,” she murmured but he heard her loud and clear, “how can he just make you half and half like that? Wouldn’t your demon blood just consume any human blood that was put inside you?”

The grin he wore was sad and it made Kagome’s heartache. “Well, that’s because I already had human DNA in me. My mother was human.”

“Then how…”

“When I was born, my mother and father used a… relic or something and it locked my human half away. My father told me that it was supposed to lock away whichever half was ‘smaller’. So I’m more demon than human but Naraku unlocked it.”

Kagome nibbled on her lip; worried what her next question would sound like to him, but she had to know. “And that… gave you ears?”

“Ears and a loss of control. Remember that night you stayed late? The red eyes weren’t your imagination. Some nights are better than others but part of the ‘curse’ of a half-demon is having weak nights. All my nights seem to be weak as I struggle to control the demon. Working out helps. And Sango helps me a lot.”

Kagome cringed at that. That was why he was going to see her every weekend? To help control his demon half? “Is that why you’ve been in control since I moved in? Sango she… helps you calm the demon?”

Maybe she didn’t want to know this. It was too late, cause Inuyasha was already answering her. “I’m not sure. I haven’t felt like I needed to see her since you moved in. Actually, since the night I chased you away. When you came back I… I haven’t struggled as much as I used to.”

She wasn’t sure what to feel about that; it made her heart race. Inuyasha didn’t look as if he knew how to feel about it either. But it was nice to see the small flush break out on his cheeks. It had her looking for something to change the subject; comparing herself to a woman she’d never met was difficult at best.

“Wait… you said you were the Beast in the story? Doesn’t that mean there’s a way to ‘fix’ this? A way to return you to a full demon if that’s what you want?”

“Ah… about that… see, Naraku is a twisted son of a bitch but you’re right, he did make it where I could return to my original form. Too bad it required Kikyo to accept me fully as the creature she turned me into and as the demon I once was. If you thought she had problems with me being a demon…”

With that, Kagome jumped to her feet. The chair she sat in smacked the floor hard but her anger had her yelling over the noise. “You mean even after she created the problem she couldn’t accept you? It was all her fault!!”

He held up his hands and tried to calm her down with his face and words. “I agree with you but there’s nothing that can be done about it now!”

“What do you mean there’s nothing that can be done!”

“Kikyo is… dead.” With her chair still on the floor, Kagome sat on the edge of the table instead, waiting for him to explain. “She couldn’t live with what she’d done -or me- so she left. Six months later she was in a car accident. She died instantly. Along with any chance for me to return to who I was.” He hung his head in shame. “If only I had told her sooner? Or never told her at all.”

Kagome was a mixture of pissed and dismay as she grabbed his face and forced him to look up at her. “If she truly loved you then it wouldn’t have mattered. None of this is your fault, Inuyasha.”

After a few seconds, she released him. He recovered from the shock of the intimate moment and lowered his head again. “You promised to be honest with me. So tell me, Kagome. Do you want to stay with a dangerous person like me? Someone who’s cursed to be like this until the day he dies? Because I’ll never change; I will always be this monster. Someone that could snap and hurt you at any moment. Do you really want to live with someone like that?” She hesitated and he looked up. There was red bleeding into his eyes. “Do you want to live with a Hanyou or run for your life?”


	7. Chapter Seven

“Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.”

**― Erol Ozan**

Kagome was irate. It had been twenty-four hours and her mood hadn’t changed. This had to do with what Inuyasha told her and with what he asked her. It also had to do with the fact that he was hanging around her all weekend, expecting some kind of answer from her.

The rational part of her brain told her that Inuyasha was just being considerate. And considering his past, he thought it was best to tell her all these things and then ask her if she wanted to stay by his side.

But the other part of her brain as well as her heart was wholly offended. And pissed that he would even ask her such a thing. Most people would at least consider the idea of living with a person who admitted to now having control. How was this any different from a drug addict? She was going to be a doctor; of course, she wasn’t going to run away!

At least it was Monday and she had classes as a reprieve. As soon as she got home, Inuyasha would be hanging around her expecting an answer. Wasn’t her silence one? Normally, she would be thrilled at her boss’s closeness (not that she would ever tell anyone that), however, now it just ticked her off more. Had she been this pushy with his story?

No, no she hadn’t been.

Breakfast had been strained. Inuyasha wasn’t wearing his hat or gloves anymore. Which was a step in the right direction in Kagome’s opinion and yet it only reminded her of the whole story. How Inuyasha was once a full demon and his fiancé went behind his back to change him into something he wasn’t. Then leave him when it didn’t work like Kikyo imagined; leaving her mess behind for Inuyasha to live with. With Kikyo dead, even Kagome couldn’t do anything about it and therefore had a rage inside her that had nowhere to go. She knew it had to be worse for Inuyasha, which made her sad. How bitter this all had to make him… no wonder he struggled to contain his inner demon now!

He didn’t seem like much of a demon now, arms crossed over his chest while he pouted and she served breakfast in silence. Kagome grabbed some toast and made for the door to get some space and ignored his calls after her. That had been hours ago and now she had to return. Where else could she go? It wasn’t like she didn’t want to go home or see Inuyasha. She was just angry.

Class had helped distract her from it and the distance helped her calm down. It was why she entered the house now with her previous rage simmering in the back of her mind now.

Inuyasha was nowhere in sight so she didn’t press her luck, going straight to work. He’d been home the entire weekend with her; Kagome figured he had gone to his new girlfriend’s to make up for not seeing her. That still made Kagome burn but it wasn’t anger. It was something else.

She still had planting to do, heading outside straight away. The past several days had been so warm and pleasant. It was going to be summer soon. The pool was still a mess but Kagome imagined it full of crystal clear water and Souta splashing around while Gramps fussed and her and her mom sunbathed. With her mother still in the ICU, it was a pipe dream. But it was a lovely one. Better than the dream of holding Souta while they stood next to their mother’s grave.

“You’re home?”

Jumping, Inuyasha had snuck up on her. Not that it was hard, she was staring off into space and daydreaming. Before she turned, Kagome wiped the tears that had fallen off her face and ducked her head as she made for the flower bed. “I live here.”

It came out as a whisper thanks to her tears clogging her throat. She hoped to pass by him unnoticed but he stopped her; grabbing her bicep and holding her still. “Why are you crying?”

Kagome wasn’t sure how he knew that. It wasn’t like she was wailing when he came out and he had yet to see her face. Inuyasha seeing through her like that had the anger going from simmering to a soft boil as she ripped her arm from his hold. Saying nothing, she went to the small flower bed and started taking her anger out on the weeds. Inuyasha stood behind her and watched.

“You still haven’t answered me…”

She could take no more; turning back to throw a clump of weeds at his feet. “Yes, I have!”

“Why are you so damn pissed?! I gave you a choice; you don’t have to stay here with me…”

“Did you ever think that I would take you up on it? That I would leave you? I’m not Kikyo.”

“No… no you’re not.”

She turned, ready to find out what happens when a human punches a half-demon, but the look on Inuyasha’s face… it was a mixture of somber and wistful. “Inuyasha… friends don’t leave at the first sign of adversity.”

“We’re friends?”

There was genuine confusion in his tone and it hurt her all the more. It showed on her face and she knew it; not trying to hide it and seeing the grin on Inuyasha’s face drop instantly.

“Kagome…”

“You stupid asshole!!!”

They both turned to the angry voice as a woman raged towards them. Inuyasha jumped between Kagome and the strange woman… who punched him hard in the jaw and back several steps. In shock, Kagome watched as Inuyasha gripped his face and glared back at the fuming woman. “I should have you arrested for assault.”

“Like anyone would believe a little girl like me hurt you, dumbass!”

“What are you doing here!!!” Inuyasha screamed back.

The woman stepped towards Inuyasha and he stepped back as if afraid. “You skipped your ‘classes’ this weekend. And with you taking in innocent bystanders, I had to make sure you didn’t completely lose it!”

“I don’t need you coming around to fucking ‘check up’ on me dammit. That’s not the agreement we had…”

Inuyasha was cut off by the woman tossing him a sword. “Shut up and nut up, Hanyou.”

Inuyasha growled as he ran back at the woman. She pulled out another sword and caught Inuyasha’s before it sliced her in half. Kagome stood in awe. Not only at their equal strength and skill but also at how the woman had two swords on her. Now, Kagome was peeking towards the front of the house. No way the woman came here on the train with those swords on her; she had to have driven here. It was then that Kagome noticed Miroku, standing off to the side of the house; watching.

Carefully leaving the pair behind while they went to town on each other, Kagome made her way to Miroku’s side. He was grinning creepily but Kagome was used to it now. “Isn’t she amazing?”

With his stare on the pair, Kagome assumed he was talking about the woman. “She sure is.”

Miroku turned half his attention to her as he spoke. “I’m glad he told you. You deserved to know.”

“Yeah? Now he’s trying to get me to leave even more than he did before.”

Miroku chuckled to himself. “Of course, he is. Kagome, if he ever hurt you… he would never forgive himself.” She frowned back at him but he just chuckled more. “It was why I was surprised when I got a call from Sango saying he didn’t show up this weekend.”

“I think… he was trying to make me break and move out.” She mumbled.

“The last thing Inuyasha wants is for you to move out. Trust me. Why, since you showed up, he hasn’t needed to see Sango as much. You just being here has helped to calm his demon.”

“Great. So I calm his demon. What does that even mean?”

Miroku turned to her fully now and looked down. “It means you’re exactly what he needs. What he’s been waiting for.”

“HEY!” They both turned and Inuyasha pointed his sword at the two of them. “Stop talking about me, dammit.”

The woman interrupted anything more but Kagome was busy looking at the sword Inuyasha held. It was five times the size it had been when the woman handed it over. “Damn his sensitive hearing. I forget about it sometimes.” Miroku grumbled. “What do you think?”

She wasn’t listening, looking back up at Miroku with a ‘Huh?’ while he smirked.

“What do you think of Sango?”

“I’ve never met her.”

“You have now.”

Miroku pointed to the strange woman and Kagome took her in fully. Sango was built; muscles in her arms and back that were taut with tension as she held her own against Inuyasha. Dark black hair was pulled up to her crown and swished with her movements. Kagome hadn’t noticed at first but Sango was in a Gi with hakama and lightly padded armor. With her fast movements, it was hard to keep up with Sango as well as Inuyasha. Kagome was still able to see the occasional hit she took from the half-demon from his fists or claws.

“Wait… so that’s Sango?” Miroku nodded with a goofy grin on his face. “Is this what they do when they’re together?”

“Yes. Why? What did you think they did?”

“I thought they were dating.” She said with a shrug while her heart did a jig.

Miroku laughed so hard he nearly fell to the ground. “Oh my and just what did you think they were up to with Inuyasha coming home so tired?”

A rock hit Miroku in the chest so hard that it knocked him down. Inuyasha had stopped and Sango was growling towards the fallen man. Kagome pressed her cold hands to her flushed face and refused to look at anyone.

Miroku was silent after that and Kagome wasn’t completely sure he didn’t have an injured rib. The ‘class’ went on for over an hour and eventually, Kagome went back to weeding while the sounds of grunts and metal clanging got so loud, she had to put in her earbuds. It was why when a hand fell to her shoulder, Kagome squealed and fell off her toes to her butt.

Ripping out her headphones, Sango and Miroku chuckled over her while Inuyasha held out a hand for her to take. “She’s this jumpy and yet, agreed to live with you?” Sango teased, giving Kagome’s shoulder a gentle shove. “You should start coming with Inuyasha to class. You could –and should- learn a few things.”

“I took a few self-defense classes…” she muttered but Kagome had a feeling that wasn’t the kind of thing Sango was teaching.

“I’ll bring her this weekend,” Inuyasha answered for both of them.

She was busy staring at his back instead of bothering with being agitated he made plans for her without asking. Because he was coated in sweat, causing his t-shirt to stick to his back and become transparent. But Sango wasn’t the least bit enamored with Inuyasha and his bossy ways. “Is that how you treat her? You can’t ask her to come you have to tell her?”

“I didn’t tell her…”

“I know it’s been a while, Inuyasha, but that’s not how you ask a girl out.” Miroku mused.

Inuyasha growled and started pushing the pair away. “Get the fuck off my property before I call the cops.”

They laughed and Kagome got to her feet to help send them off. Sango turned back once more to her. “See you Saturday?”

Kagome nodded and watched for a few more moments as they drove away. When she turned back, Inuyasha was right behind her, watching her. “So… that’s what you and Sango do on the weekends? Beat the crap out of each other and play with swords?”

Sango had taken the swords with her and at the mention of it, Inuyasha flexed and then shook his hand. The one that held the aforementioned sword. “It’s more than that.”

They were walking, heading back inside the house while the sun leaked its last bits of light across the land and house. “How is Sango able to keep up with you? Are you holding back with her?”

“Sango’s family… she comes from a long line of demon hunters. Now retired, she trains others with the guise of it being ‘self-defense’ or ‘working out’.”

Standing at the bottom of the back set of stairs, they tiptoed around one another. Their previous conversation (the one where Inuyasha laughed at Kagome’s declaration of friendship) still hung in the air between them in awkwardness. Kagome was determined to ignore it and move on as best she could for now.

“So someone that is supposed to be your mortal enemy is your best friend? How did you manage that?” She said with a small smile.

Inuyasha grimaced at the floor. “Miroku set all that up. Sango couldn’t care less about me, she just doesn’t want me losing control and killing people..”

“You wouldn’t do that.”

His attention flicked back up to her and he still wore a frown. “That sword she has me use? It’s called tessaiga and it’s not a regular sword. It feeds off my demonic energy. Using that sword depletes the demon so I’m easier to handle.” Inuyasha pulled his hands from his pockets to wrap his arms around his chest instead. Her heart tripped a bit at the sight of his muscles as they flexed and the way his eyes were trained on her chest, she worried he heard it. “If you’re scared… then you should leave.”

And they were back at this again. Kagome brushed past him and started up the stairs. He followed close behind until they reached the top where he went around and blocked her path instead. “I already told you…”

“That was before. Before you saw me with Sango. I don’t have friends, Kagome. I can’t afford to.”

“What do you call Miroku and Sango?! They care about you and just because your too dense to see it doesn’t make it any less true! What about me? What do you call me?” He was silent, his gilded eyes locked on her in a wide stare. “I suppose I’m just a cleaning lady to you?”

When he remained unspeaking, she tried to pass by him while her heart tumbled painfully in her chest. He grabbed her, taking hold of her bicep with a bit of force that was close to painful. “There! I heard it! Your heart; it gives away your fear!”

She was scared but not of him. Not of his demon. Not the way he thought she was scared.

“You say that you’re not scared of me but I keep hearing your body tell a different story! You can’t lie to me, Kagome!!”

Really? She couldn’t? It felt like she had been lying to him and herself for a while now. And now it was difficult to breathe; forced to be in the skinny hall with Inuyasha and her secret feelings crowding her. It made the space feel so much smaller. There wasn’t enough on the landing for how much she cared about Inuyasha. How much she liked him.

The hand he had on her didn’t lessen, it only got tighter in its grip. She didn’t look back at him; continuing to stare down the hall at her freedom while his seething eyes dug into her head. “Just admit it, Kagome. Admit it!”

At some point, she had started to shake. But so was Inuyasha. Tears rolled down her cheeks with her quaking while he not so softly growled next to her. “You say… you hear my heart? You hear it showing my fear?”

“I know what fear sounds like…”

“You’re so fucking stupid, Inuyasha.”

She took her eyes off her goal to brush her cheeks with her free hand while Inuyasha spun her to face him; releasing the hold he had on her right after. “Excuse me?!”

It was becoming clear, Inuyasha would never listen and believe her words. It made her wonder how many times Sango or Miroku had told them they were his friends while he still refused to believe them? So she let go of her inhibitions because he was already trying to get rid of her. There was nothing else for her to lose at this point as she flung her arms around his neck and grabbed onto him tightly.

With her ear against his chest, she could hear his heart now and it was beating wildly against her cheek. It matched hers in speed and strength and she hugged Inuyasha with all her might. “What is my heart doing now?”

He wasn’t touching her, she was doing all the touching. If she released him enough to look, she was sure she would see his hands up in the air refusing to put his hands on her. “It’s… going fucking nuts.”

“So is yours. Are you scared, Inuyasha?”

“…. Yes.”

“But not of my demon.” She said with a small chuckle.

“You don’t need one to hurt me, Kagome.”

She only tightened her hold on him, rubbing her cheek against his chest. “You don’t need a demon to hurt me either.”

He shifted a little under her. Like he moved to do something but changed his mind at the last second. “I could… rip you to pieces right now…”

“I know. And if you did… it would tickle in comparison to how you could hurt me. The pain that I’m afraid you will cause me has nothing to do with you being a hanyou.”

She felt pressure on her back; fingers gliding across it as Inuyasha wrapped her up in his arms. Once securely around, he caved in to her. His head on top of hers, Inuyasha curled his body as much as he could into hers and breathed in deep. His heart calmed down a little but still hit against her face hard as she rested her head on his chest. Without his gloves on, she could feel the heat of his hands as they pressed into her sides. The thin sweater she wore changed none of this; especially when Inuyasha gripped the fabric under his hands in a death hold. It felt… it felt as if his life depended on her. But Kagome was just imagining that.

“No one has… been this close to me… in a long time.” She nodded in understanding as tears made her throat closed up. Inuyasha must have been so lonely for so long. “I lied… or rather I’ve… been lying. You can’t leave Kagome.” Her heart tripped in her chest again so she tightened her hold, telling him the best she could that she wasn’t afraid. “Looks like you were right. I am fucking stupid.”

His hold on her tightened as well with that, molding her into him while she relaxed in his arms to allow it. She would be his putty, letting him shape her as he pleased. However he needed, Kagome would be the piece he was missing to heal all the aches to his heart. “I’m not going anywhere.”

When she giggled a little, Inuyasha chuckled in response until they were both laughing softly in a mixture of euphoria and irony.

Because neither could leave one another with how tightly they clung to each other. But also, she would never leave him even without his python grip.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you guys are loving this fast updating fic but did you know you can actually read more of it for free today? Head over to my Tumblr to find the link and while you're at it, leave me some love like a reblog or like! And you can follow me on Tumblr for more updates and info if you like what I got to offer! And I have a lot to offer (that's what she said).

_“…the sad part is, that I will probably end up loving you without you for much longer than I loved you when I knew you._   
_Some people might find that strange._   
_But the truth of it is that the amount of love you feel for someone and the impact they have on you as a person, is in no way relative to the amount of time you have known them.”_   
_― **Ranata Suzuki**_

Kagome’s ass hit the floor: hard. “You’re not watching your feet again!”

It had been a month of this and she was pretty sure, she wasn’t improving. “How the hell am I supposed to watch my feet while you’re swinging that thing??!”

Sango set down the large boomerang only so she could lean against it, propping it up against the dojo’s floor. “If you think this is bad, try going up against a demon. Even a half one like Inuyasha is faster and stronger than me.”

“Come now, Sango, you give yourself too little credit,” Miroku called from nearby.

Only to have Inuyasha grab his arm and lift him over his head, slamming Miroku’s entire body to the floor: even harder. “Pay attention, asshole.”

Kagome giggled and Inuyasha looked up from his ‘kill’, shooting her a smile and a wink. A second later (while she blushed heavily) his face and ears slipped from her sight as Miroku swiped Inuyasha’s legs out from under him from his spot on the floor. “Now who’s not paying attention?” Kagome flat out laughed at her ‘boss’ splayed out on the floor; put there by his underling. Miroku was on his feet and at her side, wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulders. “I must say, Kagome when you first insisted I join you all on this ‘workout’ mission, I was hesitant. But now?”

Sango shoved his hand off Kagome and growled at him. “You spend most of your time slacking off and the rest of it distracting the others!”

“Sango, Sango. I’m just creating real-life situations. You think their attention will be solely on the battle at all times?”

They were at it again. Sango and Miroku fought more than they ever trained. With their words mostly. Inuyasha was still sitting where Miroku had dropped him and Kagome skipped over to him to sit beside him. The dojo was ‘theirs’, no one else was ever there when they came on the weekends. Or anytime they were there really, so Inuyasha had his head and hands exposed. It allowed the heat of his palm to go straight through her yoga pants when he placed his hand innocently on her thigh.

“How’s your ass?”

He was smirking while he asked so his concern was little. Kagome punched his shoulder through her flush and frowned as much as she could against her grin. “Asshole.”

“I didn’t ask about that, just your cheeks.” This time she shoved him, what little good it did her. But he played along, falling to his side and resting on his elbow. He still looked up at her… he looked at her ass. “Looks a little swollen to me….”

“Would you stop it!” Kagome yelped, twisting her ass from his view and covering her face with her hands.

“You gonna ice it when we get home again?” She gave up, turning from him completely and crossing her arms over her chest in a huff. He chuckled and grabbed one of her elbows gently, pulling her back towards him. “I was just asking…”

“I don’t need your concern!”

The grin he wore showed off his sharp fangs but that wasn’t what made Kagome shiver at the sight of his bright smile. It was how his amber eyes glowed when he was happy like this. “I was just asking in case you needed some help with it. I’ll… help you this time if you want?”

The hand he had on her elbow had slid over to her wrist at some point and now touched her palm, his fingers digging into hers. Kagome thought she would be used to it by now as Inuyasha slowly got more and more affectionate with her. Little things like; touching her arms or legs, gently and innocently; flicking stray strands of hair out of her face, tucking them behind her ear, or picking something out of it; even hugging her like they had the day Kagome told him she wasn’t scared of his demon. A month of his gentle touches and now he was teasing her like this as well; Kagome would never get used to it.

“Ahem!” They both turned their heads, Inuyasha still had her hand in his and had pushed his thigh so it touched her knee. Sango was glowering down at them while Miroku chuckled silently behind her. “Are you two finished? This hoshi is pissing me off and you two are slacking?”

Inuyasha pulled away and got to his feet. Sango shoved tessaiga into his hands and signaled the end of Kagome’s and Miroku’s training for the day. Miroku went to the safety of the side, sitting propped up against a wall while the half-demon and demon-slayer went to town on each other. It seemed like Inuyasha was even more exhausted now that Kagome was coming with him to these ‘workouts’. Sometimes she had to help him inside the house when they got home. It worried her but he seemed fine after a shower and some food. And she knew nothing about demons. It wasn’t her place to say anything about it and she trusted Sango and Miroku.

Wandering around led Kagome to the small archery range at the back of the dojo. The target was covered with holes in its fabric covering. And the bows looked a little worse for wear but she was hardly picky. Picking up the closest bow to her, Kagome tested the strength of the riser. Her shoulder strained from it but it was due to a lack of practice. The last time she shot an arrow was back in high school when she was in the archery club.

“Do you know how to shoot that?”

Miroku had moved from his spot against the wall and watched her. Kagome grabbed an arrow and set it up. “Yeah, sure. It’s been a while but it’s like riding a bike.”

Ignoring Miroku and the rest of her surroundings, Kagome pulled back on her ammo and aimed. She missed her mark by an inch but at least she hit the target. Miroku clapped but Kagome just grabbed another arrow. She was sweating when she stopped, looking at the ten arrows that now stuck out of the target. It wasn’t until Kagome was pulling them from the thick foam that she realized she was being watched by more than just Miroku.

Sango and Inuyasha had stopped and stood just behind Miroku. For once, Sango looked impressed. “You didn’t tell me you were an archer.”

“I’m not,” Kagome said with a huff of sarcasm, “I did it a little in high school. That’s all.”

“Hmmm…” Miroku started and already everyone knew they weren’t going to like what he said, “President of the archery club? That’s hot.” Sango punched the back of Miroku’s head while Inuyasha growled “you’re fired” at him. Miroku grabbed his head and chuckled. “What? I was hot for the president of the archery club in high school!”

“You’re an idiot.” Inuyasha and Sango said simultaneously.

Kagome had gone back to ignoring them, pulling her arm back only to release it a few seconds later. Sango muttered something about quitting for the day and Inuyasha appeared at Kagome’s side once she lowered the bow again. “Can you teach me?”

Confused, she dumbly handed over her bow to Inuyasha. His fingers brushed hers as he took it, feeling like they lingered a little more each time he touched her. As he held it, she adjusted him, handing him an arrow to place when he was set. Not saying a word, Kagome let Inuyasha try to aim for the target and fire on his own. Partly because it was how she was taught but also because she liked watching his muscles tense as he pulled back. He completely missed the target and Miroku burst out into laughter.

She giggled and Inuyasha rolled his eyes at both of them. “Alright, assholes, what did I do wrong?”

“Here.” Kagome handed him another arrow and let him get set. “Your breathing is all over the place. Just breath normally, don’t hold it in.” This time, she placed a hand on his shoulder that held the grip and a hand on the elbow he used to pull back on the bowstring. “Relax. It’s not like playing with a sword.” Inuyasha released a “Keh” and relaxed his shoulders and chest. “There you go. This is about focus, not strength.”

“If you want me to focus… you should probably step back,” Inuyasha whispered.

Kagome quickly popped her hands off him and stepped back. He chuckled and took a breath before firing again. This time, he hit the target… the outer edge of the target. “You’re getting better!”

“Feh!” Inuyasha huffed, handing her back the bow. “Yeah, I’m a real threat now.”

She shrugged. “At least you have your strength. You can always use that. What are the chances of a bow and arrow being around at the ready?”

“You should teach archery,” Sango yelled as she pushed Miroku away from her (he had been doing something to Sango but Kagome missed it, only seeing her shove him hard), “I’m always looking for good teachers to work here.”

“Really?” Kagome squeaked.

“That is if you’re allowed?”

Sango was eyeing Inuyasha who grimaced back. “What the fuck do I have to do with it?”

“You are her employer aren’t you?”

It was like he forgot, Inuyasha getting red in the face and barking back at Miroku. “Yeah, I know!”

“And her bodyguard? So, of course, I would ask you if it was alright too.” Sango smirked.

Kagome forgot about that; how her life was at risk for the debts her father collected. It was easy to forget things like that with Inuyasha protecting her. “I’m not sure she needs me anymore…” Inuyasha mumbled.

She stared at him, Kagome’s mouth opening and shutting a few times but saying nothing as he went to his bag on the other side of the dojo. So she focused on her new friend, smiling brightly at Sango. “Thank you for training me.”

“I didn’t have much choice, did I? Since you want to live with a Hanyou.” The session was over; Sango wrapped a towel around Kagome’s neck. “It’s nice to have another girl around though. And Inuyasha is a lot easier to deal with now that you’re here.”

“Um… thank you?”

Sango giggled and pulled Kagome with her by looping her arm through hers. “I know it’s hard to tell since you didn’t know him before but… well let's just say he’s a lot more eager to train these days. And I nearly shit a brick when he picked up that bow!”

“Hey! Shut the hell up!” Inuyasha yelled from across the dojo, proving he could hear them.

Sango shrugged, unphased. “He was such a big baby before. Whining about this and that…”

“Don’t tell her shit like that! It’s bull shit!!” Inuyasha yelled but again, Sango ignored.

“It’s not like I don’t get it; what was done to him was hella unfair. But what’s done is done!”

“I will kick your ass…” Inuyasha seethed, suddenly right behind Kagome.

She stiffened from the shock but also from the intensity that was Inuyasha being so close to her without warning. Kagome’s body just wasn’t ready for it. Even less ready for his hands as they grabbed her shoulders, the warmth they had spreading down her spine and making her tremble.

“You alright?” He asked innocently.

Sango smirked knowingly and stepped away. Kagome spun out of his hold and faced him. Which was worse as he towered millimeters from her face. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Wha… You heard me the entire time!”

“No, I didn’t! I heard you from across the dojo then the next thing I know, you’re right behind me!” She leaned in a little and whispered harshly. “It’s not nice to sneak up on people.”

“Keh, speak for yourself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Who just showed up at my house one day? Hmm? Singing and dancing and wrecking my calm without askin me?!”

He was grinning the whole time which was why Kagome was flushed and her heart was galloping. “Miroku asked me! You desperately needed my help; that place was a wreck before I showed up!”

“In more than one way!” Miroku shouted as he sauntered up, wrapping a brave arm around Inuyasha’s shoulders. “You never did thank me, by the way.”

“Thank you for what? Doing your job?” Inuyasha growled.

“What is your job anyway?” Kagome asked, Sango joining them and handing over her bag.

“I handle all of this guy’s affairs outside the house. Like his bank account, trust fund, legal issues, taxes, hiring outsiders (beautiful ones he can’t turn away), and his brother.”

“His brother?”

Kagome’s eyes went wide with confusion and curiosity while Miroku’s close with pain. He doubled over after Inuyasha elbowed him in the ribs. “Would you shut your big ass mouth? Part of your job is supposed to be keeping that shit to yourself!”

“You should know better,” Sango teased, “hiring such a gossip whore like Miroku here.” Kagome turned with Sango to leave, walking out with her as part of her ritual now. “So what do you think about my job offer?”

“I could use the money.” She blurted and Sango giggled. “Work at the house is starting to slow down. The only thing left I can do myself is paint. And I’m not sure I’m… equipped for that.”

“We could help you?” Miroku called from behind, listening in.

She turned and walked backward, Inuyasha and Miroku walking together a few short feet from her and Sango. “You’d do that?” He nodded and Inuyasha was silently watching her. “You’d have to run it by my boss.” She turned back with that and giggled with Sango at the argument that caused between the two men. Inuyasha wanted to hire people and Miroku wanted to spend time inside the house (that was clear). The two were at an impasse about it so Kagome turned again. “Why don’t you and Sango come over tonight and hang out?”

Inuyasha went pale for some reason but also said nothing. It was the first time Kagome worried she’d said too much or stepped too far into Inuyasha’s comfort zone. “Isn’t tonight a new moon?”

Kagome cocked her head at Miroku: confused. “Maybe. So what?”

He said nothing more; just smirked and looked to Sango as she stood next to her car. “Sango, dear, Kagome has invited us over to hang out tonight. Are you in?”

“If you’re going, then I have plans…”

“Please Sango?” Kagome begged.

Using her big, pleading eyes, Sango caved quickly. “Fine. I’ll bring the beer.”


	9. Chapter Nine

_“There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it.”_   
_― **George Bernard Shaw,** **Man, and Superman**_

Inuyasha had been MIA since they got home from the dojo. Meanwhile, Kagome had showered, shaved, fixed her hair, and made food for the evening. It had been a long time since she had hung out with friends like this. A LONG time. Even with it just Miroku and Sango, Kagome was nervous. Que her playing music and trying to get into the mood of the evening.

Inuyasha was locked up in his room anyway and since he could hear her no matter what she did, she blasted the music so she could hear it all over the house; straightening as she danced around. With him hovering most of the time, Kagome forgot he was even there. If she didn’t see him it was only because he was outside doing something. That was what her mind told her as Kagome put her books away and started belting out with the song.

“Tell me what you hate about me… Whatever it is I’m sorry….” She threw her hands up in the air for the rest, twisting and jumping along with the beat. The hem on her skirt hit her thighs as she moved, inching up a little with her dancing. Feeling flirty, she pulled her hair up off her neck as she turned, only to find a stranger standing behind her: watching. “Holy shit!!!”

He had been leaning against the door frame; arms crossed over his chest like it was no big deal. But as she screamed, he jumped up; his black locks falling off his shoulder in a thick braid and his dark eyes widening with concern.

“Look, I know this place looks abandoned but you can’t just walk in here…”

“Not this shit again.” Inuyasha groaned from the stranger’s mouth.

Kagome stared at him hard and he stared back. “Inuyasha?”

He was in jeans and a t-shirt; both tight and fitting… nicely. But he also had a black and red checked shirt over his white shirt like he was cold. Kagome hadn’t seen him wear so much as a coat during winter! The face fit Inuyasha as did the body, looking just like her boss and housemate. But his hair and eyes were completely different. And his ears were missing from the top of his head; human ears in a place where… everyone’s ears were.

The stranger didn’t answer her; stepping up to Kagome and bending down to grab her knee socks and pull them up. Now at her thighs where they belonged, the stranger stood over her. His face inches from hers, Kagome couldn’t find any other differences in the face of the stranger’s save for his eyes, ears, and hair. “There’s nothing I hate about you.”

Her brain was spinning as the stranger spoke again with Inuyasha’s voice. “Huh?”

Out of breath, Kagome sounded breathy and silly. The stranger just smirked and shook his head at her. “Nothing. Miroku and Sango will be here soon. And as much as I enjoy it, the last thing I want is for Miroku to see you dancing like that.”

He stepped back and on impulse, she grabbed him and studied his hands. She knew there were no claws; when he pulled up her socks she didn’t feel them. Just the gentle touch of the pads of his fingers. Something hurt at the sight of his missing dagger nails. It added to his missing ears and glowing eyes. “What did you do?”

Her voice cracked as she spoke and Inuyasha looked worried, coming back to her and wrapping his fingers around her hands as she held his. “Nothing. It’s part of the curse. I’ll be back to… normal in the morning.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Kagome nodded at the man before her and whispered an “Okay” before pulling away from him. This time, he grabbed her; pulling her in incredibly close. With his hands on the small of her back, folding her into him, Kagome had no choice but to stay still and stare up at his familiar face and strange eyes.

“It’s still me, Kagome.” He murmured, begging her.

She responded by relaxing in his arms and placing her hands on his chest; feeling the flying beat of his heart. Kagome was looking at it, his chest with her hands on it like she could see his heart under her fingers. In her mind, she could, a human heart was beating in Inuyasha’s chest and she understood that far better than a demon one. What she wasn’t sure about was how different it was for Inuyasha. “Is it? This is the form that Kikyo wanted for you, not what you wanted.”

Kagome dared to look up and found black eyes that still managed to burn like fire as Inuyasha looked down at her. That was one thing that would never change, no matter what form he was in. Inuyasha would still singe her with his intense focus on her.

One of his hands slid up her back, implanting itself deep in her hair just behind her ear, taking the strands that had sat over her shoulder with it. Pulled back, Inuyasha tilted her head back even more as he held her so that her face was angled up to his. “It bothers you. I get it. I had to let it go, Kagome. And I did… the moment I met you I let all that anger go. There’s nothing I can do to change this and you either accept that or you don’t.”

“It’s not that I don’t accept you…”

She stopped because Inuyasha was pulling her closer by her head. Pulling her to his head; gliding their faces together. It was weird, being so close to someone who only partially looked like Inuyasha. Kagome knew Inuyasha; she trusted him. She didn’t know this man and yet, she did.

Just as she was coming to terms with her feelings on kissing Inuyasha’s human side, the doorbell rang. Or rather, it screamed then sputtered and the front door squeaked loudly as it opened a second later. “Have no fear, the party is here!” Miroku yelled and they pulled away from one another. Slowly, since they were near the back of the house and hidden from Miroku’s prying eyes.

Inuyasha’s hand remained on her hip until they entered the kitchen, pushing her along with the weight of it until Miroku’s head popped up from the inside of the fridge. Human Inuyasha stepped around her and Miroku held up a small bottle.

“I brought beer.”

“Is that supposed to make up for you letting yourself in?” Inuyasha growled in character.

“Kagome,” Miroku purred, ignoring his Master, “would you like a drink?”

Inuyasha took the one that was in Miroku’s clutches and opened it with a harsh knock to the edge of the counter. She watched with rapt fascination as he took a swig but then floundered her attention back to Miroku; who was still waiting. “Oh uh… I’m not sure I should…”

“Come now, it’s the weekend! And a party. It would be rude to invite people over to drink and then not partake yourself!”

Inuyasha slapped a hand to the back of Miroku’s shoulder hard. But it didn’t have the same effect as it would have if he were his demon self. “Don’t pressure her!!”

The doorbell rang again and it quickly changed to knocking. Kagome stepped back from the situation at hand and let Sango in. The demon warrior carried a pack of beer too. Which she quickly transported to the fridge. “Didn’t I say I’d get the beer?”

Sango pushed Miroku out of her way and shoved the six-pack inside. “I knew you’d get some kind of wine cooler instead of real beer. And look, I was right!”

“I got beer too!!”

She went around the two near the fridge. “Are you two not… surprised?”

Their eyes danced from her to Inuyasha quickly. Inuyasha cleared his throat in either agitation or embarrassment. Kagome wasn’t sure because she couldn’t look at him what with them nearly kissing moments ago.

“I’m used to it,” Miroku stated and Kagome wasn’t surprised.

“I’d heard about it but this is the first time I’ve seen it,” Sango added.

“So, I’m the only one who didn’t know about him changing like this?”

Miroku choked on his beer and Sango looked at the floor. Inuyasha stomped out of the kitchen, tossing his empty beer into the trash to break loudly over the silence. “I did tell you, I get weak at night. Stop making a big deal out of it!”

The three of them were silent. Kagome was struggling with a lot; emotions, feelings, and information. And that was before Sango handed her a bottle. “This might help.”

“Am I making too big a deal out of this?” Kagome asked, allowing Miroku to open the wine cooler for her. “I don’t want to upset him but I also don’t want to pretend that I’m okay with this.”

Miroku chuckled. “How ironic. One is disgusted by the demon and the other the human. Poor Inuyasha really can’t win.”

“I’m not disgusted by either! If there’s anything I’m disgusted by it’s this curse!”

Sango grabbed Kagome before she screamed anything else. Inuyasha was human, not deaf. “It bothers all of us but there’s nothing that can be done about it! And showing how much it bothers you only hurts Inuyasha.”

She was going to be sick. Sango was right, how selfish of her! Kagome was only thinking about herself and how the curse made her feel; not how it made Inuyasha feel.

Miroku was holding out another beer to her; opened and ready to go. “Perhaps you should serve the Master this one?”

Kagome took it and they stayed put while she searched out Inuyasha. Sometimes she forgot how big the house was. Since she and Inuyasha spent most of their time in the kitchen, small family room, or in their separate bedrooms. It was why it took her a while to find him in the game room at the back of the house. It was like a lifetime ago that she’d been on her hands and knees scrubbing the floors in here. The walls still needed to be painted, just like the rest of the house. And if she had her way, the brown tiles would be painted too.

Inuyasha stood in the corner, tossing darts at the old board he’d put up after she’d found and cleaned it. Kagome didn’t remember finding darts with it so either Inuyasha had them already or had bought them since she last saw the thing. He remained stoic, only moving to toss a flying needle to dig into the board.

“You’re better at this than with a bow.”

She smirked, hoping to lighten the mood a little. Inuyasha glanced at her and tossed the last dart in his hands. Then turned and took the beer she offered him. Worry edged around her heart when he took a long swig and refused to look at her.

“I’m sorry.” His shoulders tensed but he still kept his back to Kagome. “I wasn’t thinking about how you felt. I let my emotions get away from me.”

He let out a long sigh. “Yeah, I know how that feels.” Inuyasha took another long drink of his beer and finally turned towards her. “I told you there was nothing that could be done about this curse. And I’m trying to make the best of this. I thought you… I thought you understood…”

“I do! I do understand, I promise! It just… it makes me angry that’s all.”

“You don’t think it makes me angry?” He raged.

Kagome raged right back at him. “I hate it! I hate what was done to you! It’s not fair and it angers me so much I feel sick! And I hate that too because it’s not fair to you!”

“I hate that I didn’t meet you first.” He was speaking softly and if they weren’t alone in the quiet game room, she might not have heard him. And then, he took a step closer to her, now able to reach out and touch her with ease if he wanted to. “If I had met you instead of Kikyo… but I didn’t and now.. this is who I am. Take it or leave it, Higurashi.” What did it matter; what difference did it make, how she felt about Inuyasha? He huffed loudly and rubbed his brow with the back of his hand. “Sorry. When I’m human, my mouth and emotions run off on me. Drinking was a mistake too…”

Kagome took the small remaining space between them away and tipped up her toes, brushing her lips across his before he could even lower his arm from his forehead. She kept her eyes open to watch him and he kept his open in a wide stare. Inuyasha didn’t move as she settled back on her heels either; staring at one another in complete silence. She must have been wrong before, Inuyasha didn’t almost kiss her before Sango and Miroku showed up. It was why when she stepped back a safe distance, Inuyasha still didn’t do or say anything. His wide-eyed expression would have been comical if it wasn’t her heart on her sleeve he was crushing with it.

“Have you two made up yet?” Sango cried, practically running from Miroku as she skidded into the game room. “I can’t be alone with this Hoshi another second!!”

Sango flicked on the light and by the look on Inuyasha’s face, Kagome guessed he hadn’t noticed the dark either. The light reflected in his dark irises and reminded her of how they looked when he was his usual self. But he ducked his head soon after that, spinning to return to his darts.

“Ah, darts. A gentlemen’s game!” Miroku called as he entered the room behind Sango.

“Then you don’t know how to play, do you?” Sango cooed with a sneer.

It was then that Kagome remembered the drink in her hand, taking her first sip. It burned a little but was mostly sugar and fruit juice. She finished it off and got a beer instead the next time. And the next.

She was pretty sure they were all drunk. Sango was up and dancing with Kagome while Inuyasha slumped on the couch and Miroku ate the food Kagome had made. Every now and then, Inuyasha would sit up and smack Miroku to keep him from eating it all and then stare at Kagome for a few heartbeats. Then he would smack Miroku again for staring at her and Sango. It was an endless cycle as long as the two of them were dancing, even when their dancing got sloppy and silly.

Sango pulled Kagome with her, sitting in an armchair and forcing Kagome to sit on the carpeted floor in front of her. She was going to fuss in her tipsy voice but then Sango started playing with her hair. “I love your hair, Kagome.”

“Oh, it’s going to be one of those kinds of evenings?” Miroku slurred as he flopped over the armrest of the couch; closer to the two women.

Inuyasha groaned, too tired and/or drunk to do anything more so Sango swatted the perve away a little but came right back to Kagome’s hair, pulling her fingers through her locks. Kagome leaned into her touch, enjoying the tingle it sent to her spine. “I love your hair, Sango.” She was glancing back, looking at Sango upside down. The demon slayer’s hair was short to her scalp in the back but just past her ears in the front and on top. The longer pieces slipped out from behind Sango’s ears and dangled before her face as she looked down at Kagome.

It did seem like it was one of those parties as the two of them played with each other’s hair. But Kagome was hungry, reaching over for a handful of chips and catching Inuyasha’s stare. He was pouting in the corner of the couch for whatever reason.

Kagome lost track of time after that as well as how many drinks she and the others had. Her eyes hurt while the rest of her was numb. A giddy feeling rose from her spine, into her belly, and sat in her chest. It made her head spin especially when she stood up. One of the times she did it, she almost fell and Inuyasha grabbed her after that. At least, she was pretty sure it was Inuyasha. With his hair and eyes dark and her brain ice skating, it was hard to tell the difference between him and Miroku. But if it was Miroku, Kagome knew Inuyasha and Sango would fuss.

“I think it’s time for me to go,” Sango announced as she got to shaky feet.

Miroku got up with her and Inuyasha growled under her, pulled into his lap by him. “You idiots are drunk. Sit down.”

They both listened without a fight. Kagome’s head listed to the side and fell to Inuyasha’s chest. She was busy listening to his heart and enjoying the heat of his hands on her back and thigh as he held her; too busy to care about what her friends were up to. Miroku gently grabbed Sango and the warrior didn’t fight against him as he pulled her towards and up the stairs.

Kagome was watching on in awe at the docile slayer getting handled by the careful Hoshi when Inuyasha’s hold on her tightened. “You’re drunk too.” Listing backward, Kagome let her head fall back and looked up at Inuyasha. “Is it me or those two that are the bad influence?”

She didn’t understand; Inuyasha wasn’t a bad influence and neither was Sango. Miroku might be but he didn’t influence her. And Kagome was feeling extra defensive, grabbing on as tight as she could to his jacket but feeling weak in her attempts. “No one influences me! And even if they did, you guys aren’t bad!”

“Keh. Maybe it’s you then? Influencing us and making us bad?” She didn’t know what to say to that but it made the bubbles lessen and her heart hurt. “Hey, I’m just kiddin. You ain’t gotta get all serious…”

Inuyasha’s words were a little slurred but other than that, she couldn’t tell much difference from when he was sober. Other than his brave hands on her. And his mood swings as he started to pout again. This time, Kagome was close and they were alone… and she was far from inhibited in this state. “What are you pouting about?”

Sober Inuyasha would have been shocked or embarrassed getting caught. He’d evade her question and get angry. But this was drunk Inuyasha. “No one ever plays with my hair…”

Her giddiness returned in spades, pushing his hands off her and getting up only to sit across from him on the couch. He looked at her strangely when she patted her lap so she grabbed his sleeve and tugged him down. Kagome didn’t know if it was because he was drunk or human but she was able to place him so his head rested on her thighs. She pushed his head up so she could drag a hand along his neck and pull his strands up from under him. They tickled her legs and Kagome let Inuyasha know with a giggle; a smile spreading across his lips.

Kagome would be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about playing with Inuyasha’s hair. It was so long! And pretty. Even black they had a shine to it that she couldn’t ignore. It was soft and luscious like silk, digging her fingers into his scalp to rub for a few seconds. He groaned and closed his eyes, missing her grin. Just running her fingers through now, his dark lashes fluttered open. He had long, pretty eyelashes too. Not a manly thing to say or think but Kagome liked them. Everything else about Inuyasha was manly, anyway, like his broad chest that was chiseled into a fine form. His thick arms that pulsed with veins wrapped around his muscles. And a sharp jaw that was covered in dark stubble from the long night.

She could feel his eyes on her but she refused to take her attention from his hair as the light danced on it; pulling her fingers through it and getting it free of the braid he had it in. Now lose, Kagome continued to dig her hand in, starting at the scalp but only getting about halfway down before she couldn’t reach anymore and started over.

“Why did you kiss me?”

The bubbles in her head danced and something else danced in her stomach as Kagome looked down at Inuyasha confused. “Huh?”

“Earlier… you weren’t drunk… you kissed me, why?”

She didn’t remember. Had she kissed Inuyasha? Kagome was certain she would remember something like that. “I did?”

Looking at him, Kagome had slipped her hand down the side of his face. Her fingers brushed the ear now on the side of his head and she instantly pulled away. Inuyasha caught her elbow and held her still. “I was… I was going to kiss you. Before the others showed up?”

Kagome kinda remembered that. More like, remembered the feelings from it; how she was confused and unsure. Why had she been unsure? “Were you? But… you didn’t kiss me back?”

Her vision tilted. Or was that her head? It felt heavy, holding it over Inuyasha and watching him. He still held her elbow so she started using her other hand to play with his hair. The one he held was cupping his cheek.

Kagome lacked control. It felt like nothing was hers; not her hands, arms, mouth, heart, or brain as they did as they pleased. Not that she was upset, it just felt weird. Like the tear that slipped down her cheek; that felt so strange because she didn’t know why she was crying at all what with feeling so giddy.

The back of Inuyasha’s hand brushed it away for her; her hands were busy and not taking any orders. “Why are you crying?”

Kagome shook her head, a smile twisting on her lips that didn’t feel happy. “I don’t know.”

Not knowing didn’t help as more tears fell down her face. To the point that they dripped off her jaw and landed on Inuyasha’s shirt and face. Neither of them bothered with wiping, letting them fall without end as they stared at one another.

“I’m sorry I didn’t kiss you back.”

She woke up with that, pulling her hands from him to mop up her face. As quickly and suddenly as they came, her tears stopped, leaving chapped cheeks as a reminder that it was real. “It’s okay.”

Inuyasha turned, facing away from her but not leaving her lap. She went back to playing with his hair but he didn’t go back to silently enjoying it. “I wanted to kiss you…” his hand was gripping her knee tight, “it’s been… a long time since I’ve… since I’ve had someone like you. But, you’re not like anyone I’ve ever known before either so… I’m lost, Kagome. I don’t know what to do.” Inuyasha had unlocked her tears again so Kagome ignored them, listening intently as he continued. “Do you… do you like me?”

She closed her eyes as a rush of feelings overwhelmed her. Squeezing them tight had a gush of water leaving them and her fists went to her face to help push them out more. Inuyasha’s question was so simple and honest but Kagome couldn’t wrap her mind around it at all. The emotions in her didn’t match his question; her answer didn’t match so she told him the truth. “No. No, I don’t like you.”

“Is that why you’re crying?” He asked, now sitting up and pulling on her hands to get them away from her face.

“Yes,” because she could think of no other reason why she would be crying, “I’m crying because I don’t like you, Inuyasha. I don’t like you at all. There’s not a single thing about you that I like.”

His hands had taken the place of hers, cupping her face and brushing away the remaining tears away until it was his lips brushing them away instead. Inuyasha was kissing her along her cheeks and jaw; feather touches that could have been her imagination. Kagome wasn’t sure when it all changed but now Inuyasha was propped up facing her on the couch with her head in his palms.

“I don’t like a damn thing about you either. You always do and say whatever you want. There’s not a single thought in your head to be careful or scared. With so much bad shit going on in your life, you’d think you’d at least be more cautious. But no, you just live life like it never punched you in the throat. I don’t like that about you even a little bit. I didn’t like how you just danced into my life, literally. Singing and dancing around like an idiot. And I really don’t like how you refuse to leave no matter what I throw at you!”

A sob came out as a whimper because she had been leaning into his touch the entire time he told her what he didn’t like about her. Kagome couldn’t grab onto his face like he was hers so she reached around and grabbed what she could of his hoodie and hair across his back. “Oh yeah? Well, I really don’t like how you…”

He didn’t let her finish, tugging her the last inch and thrusting his mouth on hers. All the sad and angry tension she felt dropped away to nothing and she became his doll; allowing him to do whatever he wanted to her. Apparently, what he wanted was to inhale her; he twisted her head with his hands to the side and opened her mouth with his lips. All while taking in a long and deep breath from his nose.

Her eyes had snapped shut as soon as his lips touched hers; still not in control of her body as they refused to open again. And she really wanted to see what Inuyasha looked like when he kissed her. He tasted like salt, her tears still on his lips. That hadn’t been her imagination after all. Was this real? Was Inuyasha really kissing her? It felt real for the most part but her body was still a bit numb from the beer she drank. Now she regretted them; anything that lessened the sensation of this moment made her chest ache with grief because she doubted this would happen again. Either she was dreaming or Inuyasha was, Kagome didn’t think that this moment would be repeated.

Because Inuyasha didn’t like her.

He just said as much. She had said the same but a shiver still ran up her spine as Inuyasha ran his tongue along her lower lip. And she still gripped tightly to the back of his head to press him firmly to her lips. Kagome still twisted her head to the other side to reach new parts of his mouth nibble on his lip.

Because when Kagome said she didn’t like him, it was because she loved him instead.


	10. Chapter Ten

_“Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost.”_   
_― **Erol Ozan**_

Kagome’s vision was blurred when she opened her eyes. The bright sunlight from behind helped but didn’t at the same time. It lit the face before hers but didn’t help with her confusion and headache.

Inuyasha was sleeping next to her, on his side facing her with an arm wrapped around her.

With his hair white and ears on top of his head, the sunlight wasn’t the only clue that it was morning. There were other things she needed to figure out but her head was on fire; her brain was boiling in her skull. It squashed all other thoughts at the moment, including exactly where she was. Kagome regretted not figuring that much out first as she rolled off the couch and hit the floor.

Inuyasha was up a second later, looking down at her with wide-eyed concern. “Are you okay?!”

Even after hitting the floor, her head hurt more than anything else. “Yeah… I think…” Inuyasha leaned over the edge of the couch and pulled her up to sit. Kagome instantly bowed over and gripped her head. “Why are we on the couch?”

He was running a hand up and down her back; softly touching her spine as much as he could from their positions. “I was hoping you knew the answer to that.”

Carefully, so she didn’t jar the contents of her head, she looked back and up at him as he laid awkwardly propped up next to her and over her. “You don’t remember?”

“No. I… never drink. It’s pointless when I’m a demon and when I’m human… I’m exposed enough as it is so I have no tolerance for the shit.”

“But you drank last night?”

“I had my reasons…”

“You remember that much but you don’t remember how we ended up on the couch?”

It didn’t seem like it was a big deal. They both had their clothes on from last night and nothing looked out of place. Except for her socks which were halfway down her calves. But that could be explained by sleeping in them.

“You don’t remember either?”

He had a grin on his face, silently agreeing with her that it wasn’t a big deal. At least he wasn’t mad at the two of them cuddling all night as it looked like that’s what they did. “I don’t drink either.”

Inuyasha carefully sat up; now his knees were right next to her head. “I remember waking up in the middle of the night. We were here and I didn’t know why but I was too tired to wake you up or move. So I… put my arm around you so you didn’t roll off in the middle of the night.”

“Shoulda made sure I didn’t roll off in the morning too then,” Kagome grumbled, using far more strength than usual to get off the floor and stand. “Do you not have a hangover?”

He shrugged. “Guess being a demon has its perks.”

The chuckle he released was soft but it still hurt Kagome’s head. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Well, I definitely don’t like you!”

She didn’t know why but for some reason -saying she didn’t like Inuyasha- cause a rush of flutters to her belly. That had her lurching as her body wanted to expel all the alcohol inside it. Unable to care about how it looked (something to worry about later), she pushed past Inuyasha and ran for the bathroom. The downstairs bathroom was small, allowing her to shut the door with her foot but something blocked it. To her horror, Inuyasha was now holding her hair back while she threw up.

At least there wasn’t much. It felt like she retched out her entire stomach in a few seconds, scorching her esophagus with acid from her empty stomach. It was pointless; flushing as quickly as humanly possible with a demon in the room. She still did and shut the lid too, spinning as fast as her body would allow to try and push him out again. Inuyasha ignored her feeble attempts and got her a damp cloth. He actually laughed when she tried to take it from him as he cleaned her up. It angered her but she was completely helpless at the moment and had no choice but to give in and allow him to ‘help’ her.

“Looks like we both drank too much last night,” Inuyasha said after a few short moments of silence and cleaning.

He was wiping her brow, probably still smelling her vomit and ignoring it for some reason, and searching her eyes while she searched his. “Why did you drink so much? If you don’t normally drink then what was so different about last night?”

“I was… being stupid.” That was all he said about it, switching to her. “And you? Why did you drink so much?”

It hurt but she thought about it. Kagome didn’t remember how they ended up on the couch but she did remember getting rejected by Inuyasha when she kissed him. “I was upset.”

“What about?”

Squatting before her on the ‘throne’, Inuyasha leaned into Kagome until his chest was pressed to her knees. “Something stupid.”

“Couldn’t have been too stupid,” he teased with a grin, “if it made you get blackout drunk.”

“Yes, it was,” his grin fell, “I know better than to get worked up over things that are out of my control.”

“Like your dad and his debt? And your mom?”

Taking a beat, she put her hands on Inuyasha’s shoulders and pushed him back so she could get away. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“But you’ll get upset over my curse?”

With that, she shoved him back the rest of the way with her legs when she stood up, stepping over him and leaving him and the bathroom behind. Miroku was standing in the hall a short distance away; his eyes were red and his hair was a mess. It was the first time Kagome had seen Miroku with his hair not combed and slicked back.

“Good morning.” Miroku’s voice was strained with pain but he was still smirking at them. It was hard to believe Miroku had the brain cells to give them a hard time and yet, his grin said otherwise. “Sleep well?”

She was pretty sure she slept like the dead. Miroku (as well as Inuyasha who had followed her since the bathroom) trailed behind her as she entered the kitchen to start breakfast. Her stomach never wanted anything in it again but her brain told her to eat something.

Miroku flopped to a chair at the small kitchen table and when neither her nor Inuyasha answered his question, he continued as if they were having a conversation. “I didn’t get much sleep either. Sango is such a noisy sleeper!”

“Sango slept in Kagome’s room and we all know it,” Inuyasha grunted.

“Hmmm… this is true. However, I was in there with her. And Kagome wasn’t.”

Inuyasha (who had been leaning against the door frame between the kitchen and the hall) stomped over, punched Miroku’s shoulder so hard that the chair Miroku sat in went back an inch, and then nearly broke the chair he fell to it so hard. Kagome watched over her shoulder but otherwise did and said nothing. Nothing happened between her and Inuyasha; Miroku was right, they spent the night together on the couch. However, it was nothing and therefore there was nothing to defend or fuss. It would only make them look guilty.

Breakfast was ready and Sango was still missing. “Where’s Sango?”

Miroku glanced back towards the stairs as if Sango would be there. “Still sleeping it off, it seems.”

There was a bang and Miroku groaned, reaching over to clutch his shin. “If you think that’s bad, let Sango hear you talking like this. I dare you.”

Miroku blanched but then his phone went off. In his pocket, he rose and pulled it out then stopped after looking at it only to slide it across the table to Inuyasha. “It’s your brother again.”

“So?”

“What, wait?” Both men looked at her from her outburst but Kagome stared at Inuyasha. “Your brother is calling you?”

“Half. Half-brother. Why is he calling me an issue?”

Miroku had said something about Inuyasha having a brother yesterday. Inuyasha never mentioned him to her; it was Miroku who let it slip. It made it seem as if they were estranged but if the mystery brother was calling non-stop to speak to Inuyasha then they weren’t indifferent to one another.

How much had she revealed to Inuyasha while he kept everything from her? No wonder he didn’t kiss her back. It was becoming painfully clear just how one-sided her feelings were in this relationship. The truth was, it was a difference in opinion on what their relationship was. She saw them as friends on the verge of more while he saw her as an employee on the verge of being his friend. The worst part was she didn’t even have any right to be mad; she was sad instead, passing a plate over to Inuyasha and Miroku while refusing to look at either of them.

“You should answer him,” Miroku whispered as the phone began to ring again. “He’s just going to keep calling both of us until you do.”

“Don’t I pay you to handle shit like this?”

“You do but my paycheck comes from the money he sends you…”

Inuyasha shut Miroku up from saying anything more by swiping the phone away. He glanced Kagome’s way once so she grabbed her plate and stepped away hurriedly. “I’ll go… somewhere else.”

“Kagome…” Miroku called but she ignored, trying to get to another room where she couldn’t hear anything more. “Just so you know, that’s not how you should have handled that.” She heard Miroku’s harsh whisper and then curse after a loud smack cut him off.

At the game room, she could still hear bits and pieces of Inuyasha’s phone call. So she continued out to the veranda on the back of the house. The pool was still a mess and with the season starting towards summer, it was a real shame.

Kagome knew it would be better for her to eat but she couldn’t make herself do more than pick at her plate. Even more so when Miroku joined her outside. “You know that… I only know what I know because it’s my job, right?” She looked up at him as he stood over her, the sun blocking out whatever face he was wearing. “I’ve known him for a long time but I wouldn’t know as much as I do about him if it wasn’t my job to know.”

“And my job is to clean, nothing more.”

Miroku sighed ruefully and sat on the steps before her. “He’s out of practice opening up to people.”

“He opened up to you and Sango.”

“That took time and, again, it was our jobs.”

“Okay, well, I live with the guy. Doesn’t that require knowing things like how he turns human on new moons?”

Miroku shifted slightly to look at her over his shoulder. “He didn’t hide it. If he didn’t want you to know then he could have just hid upstairs in his room all night. But he didn’t. Instead, he chose to show you and spend time with you while in (what he considers) his weakest time.”

He had a point. And what more did she expect? That he would tell her everything just because she told him everything? Inuyasha knew more than her family did about the thugs hounding her. And he knew more than her friends about her family and home life. No one knew that her scholarship was gone. Only Inuyasha.

“Kagome.” She and Miroku jumped as Inuyasha ground out her name from behind. “Is there a procedure available that could save your mom?”

Inuyasha was furious like she had never seen before. He was simmering as if ready to explode. “Um… yeah?”

He slapped a hand to the door frame he stood in and they jumped again. “Why the FUCK didn’t you tell me about it?”

“Be..because…”

“Because WHY?!”

Now she was angry. She was expected to spill all about her personal life to her boss? “Because it was none of your business!”

With that, she turned back around to her food and Miroku who looked as if he might piss his pants any second now. Kagome hoped that laser eyes weren’t one of a demon’s powers because Inuyasha was close to boring a hole in the back of her head. “Excuse me, I have to make a call.”

There was so much venom in Inuyasha’s tone. It was what Sango walked in on and Kagome could only hear her reaction; refusing to turn and look. “Whoa! I should have brought tessaiga with me!”

“Shut up.” The hanyou growled.

Sango sat on the steps next to Miroku but turned so she was facing Kagome. “What’s his problem?”

Kagome shrugged but Miroku patted Sango’s leg. “He’s dealing with a… difficult call.”

“Since when does he use a phone? I thought that was your job?”

Miroku glanced at Kagome and said nothing. There was more that wasn’t being said here; like why Miroku handled Inuyasha’s calls to his brother. If they were family, why did Inuyasha need a middle man? They knew about his curse but how much did any of them know about Inuyasha? “Do either of you know a demon named Naraku?”

They both stared at Kagome hard. “He’s the demon that cursed Inuyasha,” Sango answered with a tone that had sorrow and anger mixed in it.

“Neither of us have met him if that’s what you mean. We were brought on Inuyasha’s staff after he was cursed. And the feud started long before our time.”

Sango was curiously silent while Kagome nearly choked on her air. “Feud?”

Miroku cursed under his breath, looking back for Inuyasha most likely before releasing any more information. “I don’t know the whole story. Just that Naraku had it out for Inuyasha’s family for a long time. At least five hundred years now.”

“How is that possible?” Kagome asked.

Miroku shook his head, “Demons live a loooong time. Didn’t you know that? Inuyasha is at least six hundred years old.” She gasped but Miroku didn’t have time for her shock. “Ever since Inuyasha was born, Naraku hated him. I imagine it had something to do with the runes his parents used to make him a full demon while Naraku was only half.”

“So he changed Inuyasha and ruined his life all because he was jealous?!”

Sango and Miroku hushed her as she all but screamed. All the anger she had at Inuyasha melted away, latching itself onto a man she’d never met. No wonder Inuyasha was so secretive; it wasn’t as if he could trust people.

When Inuyasha’s angry voice leaked out through the closed door from the other side of the house, they all froze; thinking they’d been caught. “That’s not what we agreed!”

It was icy quiet as the three of them stared at one another, unconsciously listening. Kagome wasn’t even breathing which was why she was panting when Inuyasha stepped back out onto the veranda. “Do you have a dress?”

He was talking to Kagome. “Huh?”

“Do you have a fucking dress?!”

“Jeez Inuyasha, I doubt the girl has a dress that’s designed for such an activity as fuc…”

Inuyasha pointed a claw at Miroku with his eyes bright red. “You shut your goddamn mouth. You’ve said enough today already.”

Miroku was silent and Inuyasha returned his attention to her. His eyes were on fire but Kagome felt indignant, getting to her feet to square up to him. “I need to know what I need it for to answer that question.”

His mouth worked as he chewed on her words. “You and I are going to a… party next week. Semi-formal attire is required.”

She didn’t have anything like that but her mom did. “I’ll manage.”

“Good.”

Miroku got up quickly and followed after Inuyasha, leaving her and Sango alone and the demon slayer looked ill, to say the least. “Sango?”

At first, Sango turned away from her. Then, it was like she changed her mind. Instead of ignoring Kagome, Sango faced her full-on. Her mouth was pressed into a heavy frown while her eyes sparkled with tears. Whatever she wanted to tell Kagome, it was a war within Sango that was tearing her up to say. “Naraku is the demon that killed my family.”

“What?”

“The reports all say that they died in a car crash. But I was there, I was in the car, and I know what I saw. Everyone told me it was a bad dream, my mind’s way of coping with their deaths. Naraku was there. We weren’t in our car, we were in my house, and the only reason I’m alive is so I carry-on with a half-life. A cursed life just like Inuyasha.”

“You’re cursed too?!”

“Yes. But not like Inuyasha. My curse isn’t physical, it’s emotional. I have to live the rest of my life without my family. All because I couldn’t do a damn thing to save them. I got to watch them all die; too weak to stand up to a demon. My mother, father, and even my little brother.”

A tear slipped down her cheek and Kagome found herself sitting right next to her. Sango was in her arms a second later, pressing her face into Kagome’s shoulder for the few seconds of wallowing she allowed herself. Then Sango popped back up, wiped the remaining tears, and was so calm it was like Kagome had imagined the whole exchange.

“Miroku will never tell anyone this, but there’s a reason he’s so devoted to the Tenoe family. His family was cursed by Naraku long ago. So even though he’s never met him, Naraku has ruined Miroku’s life too.”

Kagome shivered as more bile rose into her throat that she had to swallow back down. “So everyone in this house has been cursed by Naraku somehow?”

Sango nodded but then smiled suddenly. “I think you should wear your hair up!”

“Huh?”

Miroku returned silently and Kagome flopped back to the ground, feeling exhausted. “Wow,” Miroku murmured, “You got invited to the Tenoe gathering? Tread lightly, Kagome.”

She gave him a nod but treading lightly was far from what she had planned. If she was going to be around other demons then she would use them to get more information. With it a week away, she would gather all she could until then but it would be a fallback if she had her way.

Kagome was going to find Naraku and give him a piece of her mind.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the love you've been sending for this fic! If you guys are ever hurting for an update on this, check out my Tumblr for more. I can't always promise that I'll keep this page up to date which is why you guys should use my Tumblr page to get consistent chapter updates.

_“It can take years to mold a dream. It takes only a fraction of a second for it to be shattered.”_   
_― **Mary E. Pearson,** **The Kiss of Deception**_

It felt good to get to some serious labor, pulling a large limb across the yard to the pile Kagome had started. It was a task that felt endless, trying to get the pool clean. But at least she could see the results of her labor and after the week she’d had, Kagome really needed the satisfaction.

Nothing. She had come up with nothing in her search for Naraku. It wasn’t as if she knew anything about the demon world. Four months ago, Kagome didn’t even know that demons were real. All she had accomplished were more stories about how terrible Naraku was.

Starting with Mirkou’s story.

Four days ago…

Her school was the only place she could have this meeting but Miroku got strange looks when he arrived at the small and close-knit medical campus. It was probably the suit he wore; Kagome was used to it since she met him dressed similarly. It was rare for anyone to arrive looking as… expensive as Miroku did.

Kagome grabbed him as soon as he arrived and hustled them away to the most private place she could think of: the lab library. He looked around with disinterest and forced a smile on his face. “I must say, Kagome, you can be quite forceful when you want something.”

His tone was lifted with a double meaning but Kagome had spent enough time with Miroku now to know when he was faking. “I need you to tell me all you know about Naraku. Please.”

He dropped his fake smile and showed his real frown. “You shouldn’t be worrying about him. He isn’t for you to concern yourself with…”

“I know he’s cursed you too. That he killed all of Sango’s family…”

“They died in a car crash….”

“Miroku. I’m not an idiot and neither is Sango. Why else would a demon associate with a demon hunter? I may not know much about this world but I do know what I’ve been told. And things don’t add up unless there is a deeper connection between Sango’s family and Inuyasha’s. As well as yours.” Kagome stated, keeping her eyes on Miroku’s face the entire time.

He didn’t look phased in the slightest, making her worry that her approach to this was going to fail. “And what about you? You’ve been swallowed by the Tenoe family and yet, you have no connection to Naraku whatsoever.”

Kagome had considered that and had only one theory on it. “I have no connection, you’re right, but I come from a long line of shrine maidens…”

“Who are worse than demon hunters to a demon. So why would I have hired you?”

“It’s because of my lack of connection and my family history that you hired me. Isn’t it?”

Miroku looked as if he was hiding something. Guilt was all over his face and it made Kagome squirm when he remained silent. Finally, he broke when she didn’t, patience winning out in the end. “Those were the two main reasons, yes. The other reason was… my own. You looked like the right person for the job, that’s all.”

“What did you expect of me? That I would just clean?”

Miroku smiled for real this time and gently shook his head. “No. I could tell you were a kind and gentle person. That you would be able to bring Inuyasha a little bit more out of his… shell.”

Kagome huffed. She felt as if she hadn’t done anything of the sort. All she had done was force him to save her; physically a few times and then house her to keep her safe. Everything she had learned or seen of Inuyasha wasn’t from him telling her because he wanted to. It was by force; he had no say in the matter each time. So if Inuyasha had left his shell more because of her it was then it was more like she yanked him out instead of coaxed him out gently.

“If that’s what you expect from me then… tell me more about Naraku so I can do more for Inuyasha!”

Miroku shook his head but answered her anyway. “He’s a hollow creature. His family specializes in curses; handing them out like party favors to anyone who crosses them. Or looks at them funny. I don’t know what my family did to Naraku but he gave us all a half-life. It won’t be long now until I die. It will be sudden and painful.” Kagome gasped, sorrow overwhelming her with the information and Miroku smirked. “You feel bad for me? Maybe you want to help me out too?”

“Yes! Of course, I want to help you!”

Miroku grabbed her hands and looked into her eyes with all the sincerity Kagome imagined he had in his body. “Then… will you be the mother of my child?”

She blinked a few times in shock but then wrenched her hands free to smack him. “What the hell is wrong with you!!”

Miroku only chuckled, the seriousness of the moment long gone. He let her smack him a few times before pushing her hands back and moving towards the door. “I thought I’d give it a chance. But I’m pretty sure any chance of you bearing my child passed long ago when you met the Master?” He lifted a brow with his question but the smile on his face was telling. “What you’re feeling for Inuyasha, I get it. We all feel the same way. But the curse is permanent.”

“I know, I’m not trying to break the curse I just want to… I don’t know what I want but I Can’t stand around and do nothing while there’s someone out there hurting my friends. And still hurting others.” She had no proof; no way of knowing if Naraku was doing anything to anyone anymore. But with all he had done already, it was hard to believe he had changed.

Miroku was seconds from walking out the door but he stopped for a moment longer. “I was… a child when my father died. We were walking and his heart exploded in his chest. It was… unexpected. I’d never met my mother so the Tenoe family took me in. They had a pension for collecting those wrecked by Naraku. It was Inuyasha’s father that told me I would die too if Naraku’s curse wasn’t lifted from my family line. I would die in the street just as my father had.” He was wringing his hands in anger and frustration but didn’t stop. “I met Inuyasha then. He was still a full demon. I met Kikyo too. She was nice but quiet. It wasn’t long after I moved in that everything happened. Inuyasha was cursed and Kikyo was to blame. I wasn’t surprised, there was something in her eyes. Fear.” Kagome swallowed the vomit in her throat back down and let him finish. “Inuyasha tried to keep his life the same but after his father died he loss the care. He’s been living alone in that house for decades. It didn’t look like that when he moved in; it was practically brand new. But he lacked the desire to keep it nice. Until I hired you.”

Miroku left it at that and Kagome fought off the flush and embarrassment she felt to ask him one last thing. “Do you know where I can find Naraku?”

His mouth popped open in shock but then closed in anger. “Stay away from him, Kagome. I mean it. Nothing good will come from meeting Naraku.”

Today….

Kagome had listened to Miroku’s words and warnings. Seriously. But she still tried to find information on the demon named Naraku. Nothing to go on, she was left with nothing in the end. The only person she could talk to was her Gramps and all he had were scripters and theories. As well as scoldings for not visiting her mother more.

Guilt piled on top of guilt, Kagome was in desperate need of fresh air and exercise. As it was, she wasn’t sleeping well so she hoped this would tire her out enough to get one night of rest.

“Oh, so you’re here today.”

She half-turned, Inuyasha a few feet from her on the other side of the ‘pool’. “Of course. I live and work here.”

“Not the last few days you haven’t.” Inuyasha was in a bad mood but what else was new. Ever since that phone call he’d been pissy. “You haven’t been home, Not to work or eat or even hang out.”

“I asked you for a couple of days off and you agreed.” She said with a sigh of frustration that was only half aimed at him.

Kagome looked away when he crossed his arms over his chest. Grabbing another limb, she pulled hard. Already sweating, she ignored the ping to her heart at how little he cared about her appearance. He wasn’t supposed to care anyway; he was her boss. That didn’t help the hurt at the reminder. How her looking shabby was all he really saw and it never bothered him because he didn’t think of her the way she did him.

She blinked and Inuyasha was by her side; his hair still moving from his speed as he took the long and heavy branch from her to toss to her pile. He made look as if it weighed nothing as it hit his target with ease. His arms were crossed over his chest again as if it had all been her imagination. While her hands still hung in the air from where they once wrapped around the wood.

“If I’d known you were using your days off to get information on Naraku, I never would have agreed.” On instinct, Kagome took a step back with her shock. But Inuyasha grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “Miroku works for me, remember?”

Finding her breath, she smirked up at Inuyasha. “Sometimes, it’s easy to forget.”

“And with Sango spilling her family history… what are you planning, Kagome?”

He had yet to let go of her arm; as if he knew she would evade the question if given the chance. “Nothing. I can’t plan anything without information. And all I have is what Naraku’s done not where he is or any weaknesses.”

Kagome nearly fell onto her ass when Inuyasha shoved her back and released her at the same time. All so he could glare at her fully and point an angry claw in her face. “Stay away from Naraku.”

“Fine.” She growled, going back to her work and refusing to look at Inuyasha ever again.

“Fine? You won’t give it up that easily. I know you, Kagome…”

“Yeah, you do. But I know nothing about you!” She slipped, her venom showing with her words so Kagome did the best she could to recover. “And I know nothing about Naraku so there’s nothing I can do anyway. I’m just a weak, stupid human, right?”

“You’re not weak or stupid…”

“And yet, that’s how you treat me! Like I’ll break with the truth or something? I get it, I don’t know anything about your world. But I was brought into it; without being asked. The least you could do is stop treating me like a child.”

She had been taken her anger out on a few thin limbs, breaking them into smaller (more manageable) pieces when Inuyasha’s hands settled over hers. She slowed to a stop and dropped the mangled sticks; slowly looking up at him. When her eyes met his, glowing embers that always managed to set her on fire, Inuyasha stepped closer so his chest touched her shoulder. Kagome could feel his heart pound against it and her heart picked up speed in response.

“To me… you are a child.” She huffed but he cut her off with a hand on her cheek. “Compared to me, you are a kid. Still young and innocent. And I tried… not to corrupt you. That’s all.” He brushed her jaw with the pads of his fingers; his claws grazing her skin. She took her eyes off his for a millisecond, looking up at his ears as they flicked back and forth. “But you’re right. You were brought into all this without being asked. So here it is, Kagome, your chance to leave and never look back.”

She couldn’t breathe and everything hurt. “What?”

“You don’t have to get any deeper into all this. You can leave now and no one will bother you…”

Kagome reached up and ripped his touch away with as much ferocity as she could but when she tried to toss his hand away, he held firm. “We’re back here again? If you want me to leave then say so, Inuyasha. Because you’re the one that wants me to leave so badly.”

“I don’t want you to leave!”

“Then stop pushing me away!!” She screamed in his face.

He didn’t push her; instead, he pulled her. Their bodies were flush. Inuyasha had an arm around her waist to keep her there too. Like she would pull away. His hand was on the small of her back where most of her sweat had pooled but her mind wasn’t on that at the moment. It was on the hand that was in her hair; his thumb brushing cheek while his scorching eyes searched her face. Silence fell over them and he just held her. Kagome relaxed into his touch until she was leaning into his palms.

Closing her eyes, she swallowed the fear in her throat and whispered. It was all she could get out. “I know… the last person you trusted and let get close to you… broke you, Inuyasha…”

He chuckled so she flung open her eyes. “You think I’m trying to protect myself? The only person I care about protecting is you, Kagome.”

“So this… is all about protection? Are you trying to protect me now?” A dark brow twerked up in confusion and she bit her lip to keep a sob from escaping. “Are you trying to scare me away right now?”

“That only worked once and I should have let you go then.” He admitted.

The hand in her hair slipped down, rubbing with a gentle force until it rested on the back of her ribs. Her nerves had her playing with the strands of pure white hair that fell to his chest. When he ripped her into his arms, her hands had gone to his chest on instinct but now she couldn’t make herself move them; feeling his stone muscles under her fingers with his tension. Kagome didn’t even notice what she was doing until Inuyasha’s face softened and he looked down at her fingers. It wasn’t enough for her to stop, twisting strands of silk around her fingers.

“No one… ever plays with my hair.” She moved to pull her hand away but he grabbed it and held it against his chest. “Do you remember?”

Kagome was confused but the pleading look on Inuyasha’s face made her want to understand more than anything. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Inuyasha sighed and dropped some of his stance. He still held her and her hand but not as tight. “Nothing. I just… remembered something. It’s fine.”

“Did you tell me not to touch your hair or something?”

“NO! No, nothing like that.”

He let go of her hand so she continued to play. “Miroku told me that you’ve been cursed for a long time now?”

“I guess that means he told you about my life span too?”

Kagome focused on her fingers instead of Inuyasha’s as they dug into her a little deeper. “Sort of. I didn’t mean to go behind your back or anything. I would have preferred you tell me these things. But when it became clear you weren’t going to tell me anything about yourself…”

He sighed ruefully above her and she bit back another sob. “It’s not that I wasn’t going to tell you. I just… didn’t know how. It’s been almost thirty years since I’ve been close to someone like this, Kagome. I need… time.”

“Time?” Kagome asked, finally looking up.

He nodded but kept his eyes locked on her. “I wanted to go… slow with you. And not scare you. It’s so easy for you, Kagome. Your heart is open and innocent. So easy to love and be loved. I’ve had years of life to make me more cautious than you will ever be.”

With that, she yanked on his hair. He yelped as she pulled his head to the side by his strands and forced his ears closer to her words. “I’ve had plenty of life experiences all of which were more than enough to make me be just as closed off to people as you are! I’m not naïve or innocent! I’m just human and not stupid!!” She let him go and he let her go. “God, you’re an idiot! Do you think you’re protecting me? All you’re doing is hurting me!” Kagome twisted away from him when he blanched at her words. “You’ve been alive so long, you’ve forgotten how precious time is. Or maybe you never knew? Living forever makes you selfish and dumb. I’m not closed off because I know how precious life is! Keeping yourself guarded like you do will only leave you with regrets. I have none.”

“I don’t have a limitless lifespan,” Inuyasha said like it was nothing but Kagome spun back to face him, “I just age very slowly. And I could get killed any day by another demon or a demon hunter.” He said with a shrug and then looked at her with a grin, “Or an overzealous shrine girl.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “God, you’re such a dick.”

“Hey! I’m still your boss!”

With the reminder, she grabbed another limb and started to pull. “Sorry. You’re such a master dick.”

“Keep it up and I’ll show you who’s a master with his dick.”

“What?”

Her heart was out of control. Not that it bothered Inuyasha; who smirked wickedly back at her. “You heard me.”

“Are you…” he stooped down and picked up five large limbs at once, “that’s… sexual harassment.”

“Really? You gonna report me?”

She had to turn away before her face melted off. Kagome really didn’t know what to think at this point; especially with Inuyasha so hot and cold. Right now, he was red hot and it made her burn with her flush. Especially when Inuyasha got hot and took off his shirt. Causing Kagome to get hotter.

He helped her the whole day until all that was left was the nasty trash and dirt inside the pool. To which, Inuyasha made a comment about hiring someone else to handle that before pushing her back inside. He let her have the first shower and asked if they could watch a movie together after dinner; like old times. Only she was confused and nervous now.

Maybe Inuyasha thought they were okay since he had rejected her? She should just be cool about it; it only bothered her anyway. Letting Inuyasha see he got under her skin was admitting that she still had feelings for him. And she needed to get over him.

“So are we… okay?” He asked once they were settled on the couch; the length of a body between them.

Kagome refused to let him know she was pining for him, hardening her heart as much as she could. “Sure. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“You’ve been pissed at me since last weekend. I’m not sure if it’s cause I didn’t tell you about my brother or because I didn’t kiss you back?”

It was unfair how he could just bring it up like this when all she wanted to do was forget it forever. Now, all Kagome wanted to do was fall into the Earth and have it swallow her whole. Inuyasha, however, couldn’t or wouldn’t keep his big mouth shut today so she glared back at him. “Both. I’m pissed about both but you don’t need to worry about it. I’ll get over it as long as we stop talking about it.”

That shut him up until she picked a movie that is. As soon as she clicked play, Inuyasha flopped across the couch and dropped his head in her lap. The squeal Kagome released only made him laugh and she regretted the shorts she put on to sleep in. Even more when Inuyasha turned and pressed his cheek into her thigh. He had shaved and she thanked the heavens above that she had shaved as well.

Watching the movie was impossible for her now; Inuyasha continuing to rest his head on her legs. Maybe he heard her heart? Or her struggled breathing as relaxing went out the window, but Inuyasha didn’t watch the movie for long; rolling to look up at her. “You still don’t remember the other night?” Kagome shook her head and he smirked. “You played with my hair.”

His eyes danced, asking her silently and she slowly responded by carefully picking at his strands. With him watching her, she started to run her fingers through his locks smoothly, avoiding his ears.

“My mom used to play with my hair.” Inuyasha’s big mouth was at it again but these were things she wanted to hear. “Even after I was cursed, she was one of the few brave enough to get close to me. But she died soon after.”

“How did she die? Old age?”

“No,” Inuyasha said with a sad smile, “she didn’t die of old age. She was human but there are ways around that when you’re… connected to a demon.”

“Oh,” Kagome responded, absentmindedly wrapping a few strands around her finger as she remained lost in Inuyasha’s stare, “you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to…”

“I know. But I don’t know how she died. I probably should but I was struggling with the curse back then. And then she was gone. No one would tell me how. To this day they refuse to tell me and… I think it’s because it’s my fault.”

“What?”

“I think… I lost control and killed her. It’s why my father died soon after and why no one cared when I moved out of the main house to this one. Or minds that I keep away from the family and the demon world. I disgust them.”

Kagome hugged his head to her belly in an awkward but necessary show of affection. “No, that’s not true! I’m sure they just don’t know what to say to you. What to do for you. It’s not your fault.”

“You’ll see tomorrow night. Brother is forcing me to come and bring you along. I can only assume he wants to make sure I’m not screwing everything up more.” Inuyasha’s lips brushed across the skin of her bicep as he spoke; not hindered at all by their closeness. “Which is why I want you to stop looking for Naraku. It will only bring trouble, Kagome. If you have any questions, ask me and I’ll tell you the truth.” He pulled on her arm to get his face free enough to look her in the eyes. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”


End file.
